


A New Brother

by Scarlet (Neryx)



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Dark Brotherhood - Freeform, Dragons, Elf/Human Relationship(s), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Religious Cults, Secret Identity Fail, Secrets, Trust Issues, Vampire Bites, Vampire Dovahkiin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-07-24 18:16:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16180538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neryx/pseuds/Scarlet
Summary: Brynjolf finds out the Dovahkiin is a member of the Dark Brotherhood and is quite fascinated by it for a reason, neither of them quite understand yet. Needless to say, the assassin is not all that happy with being pestered for information and tries his best to prevent Brynjolf from finding out even more. What happens however, when the thief proposes to join the Brotherhood in an attempt to gain knowledge about it?EDIT: Thinking of rewriting this one in a while.





	1. Bribes

**Author's Note:**

> Yay, first Skyrim fanfic! I have no idea, if this will be any good or if I'll hate it halfway-through and delete it. Only time will tell.

"You look like utter shit, lad," Brynjolf stated, while sipping on his mead. It was a relatively quiet Morndas and approaching nightfall. Sundryl, the usually upbeat and quirky leader of their guild, had just entered the Ragged Flagon. His skin looked to be deathly pale, despite him being a wood elf, and he had bags under his eyes. He was still a handsome, relatively young elf, but it was unusual to see him like that. Hence Brynjolf's reaction. 

"Fuck you, too," the elf mildly snapped, but sat down across from his friend nevertheless at one of the wooden tables. He hadn't been with the guild in  _ages_ , too preoccupied with other matters. Not only his vampirism gave him enough troubles, but also the Dark Brotherhood needed it's Listener to be present. Even if he had already defeated Harkon, the vampires were also giving him troubles. Serana had asked him to stay for a while, help her out with organizing a few things as well. 

While the blonde elf more or less collapsed atop the table, resting his head on it, he ordered the poor guy a mead as well. "Well, no need to get insulting, lad. Haven't seen you in weeks. Needless to say, the others aren't very happy about that..." he noted helpfully. Guild Masters weren't supposed to vanish for months on end- they were supposed to bring in cash and plan heists. Some were already competing to replace the elf.

"I-I  _know_. And I'll try to be here more often, but I really don't have the time.." he whined then. Upon a bottle of mead being placed before him by the bartender, he huffed, shoved his slightly wavy hair behind his pointy ear and took it. Worst thing was, he had ran out of excuses for his absence long ago. 

"Sun, you can't keep doing this. Even with your other...  _affiliation_ , there is no excuse to keep leaving us alone," the thief pointed out, only to softly snort at the look of distress on his friend. 

Could his undead heart do so anymore, it would have quickened it's beating now. "Y-You uh... W-What affiliation?" he whimpered, hastily looking around. As a response, Brynjolf only held one hand up and wriggled his fingers a little. "What-  **How**?! I don't even- Shit!" he began panicking a once. Assassins weren't supposed to be found out! If his brothers and sisters got wind of this, they would off him! Well, probably not, but they'd surely punish him in some way or another. 

"It was only a suspicion. I overheard you and Delvin talking about it and now, my friend, you've confirmed it," he chuckled again, while a wide-eyed elf regarded him. "Don't worry though, I won't tell. Wouldn't want to get you on my bad side, eh? Either way, you have to care for _this_ guild, Sundryl. I mean, I doubt you're the leader of  _those guys_ as well, so you  _should_ set priorities," Brynjolf returned to the original topic next, so his friend would calm down. He trusted the thief more than any of the other members, but he had no intention to test the other. At least not right now. He'd rather not die at his hands, thank you very much.

The assassin swallowed nervously, before awkwardly stating "N-Not  _exactly_. Father, uh...  _Sithis_ , is our leader. But I  _can't_ just not set them as my priority, Bryn."

"Why not?" he inquired then, genuinely interested. It was very hard to find any info on the Brotherhood and he liked to know his fellow business-men. Delvin usually made deals with them, but promised to keep everything secret, so he got to survive. Also, he was just interested in  _anything_ Sundryl did for some reason, he didn't even understand himself. 

His question clearly made the other uncomfortable, as he checked for any people listening in on them for the third time. "I can't tell you that. You  _know,_ how important secrecy is for us... You  _already_ know too much for my liking, anyway. I'm just...  _needed_ for certain things to work, okay? A-And they are my family! Not that this here isn't my family too, but uh... It's difficult," Sundryl forced himself to smile a little. 

"Hm... What would it take to make you talk, huh?" the human wriggled his eyebrows funnily. 

"Are you- A-Are you trying to  _bribe me_? B-Bryn  _no_. I wouldn't even tell you, if you tortured me..." he said, while a chill ran down his back. He actually  _had been_ captured and tortured for a while once and had kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to repeat the experience at the hands of his fellow thief  _or_ assassins. 

A short silence followed, as Brynjolf tried to come up with something nice. Money obviously wouldn't do it- Sundryl was far too rich by now through all of his adventures. But as the vampire drank from his mead again, a dangerous idea formed. "Well... But what about this: If you tell me a little about it, you get to drink from me," he smirked. 

The vampire got increasingly annoyed and frowned "D-Drink...? Just stop with this nonsense-"

"Yeah, because you break into their homes, when they sleep. But I'd do it voluntarily and-" he interrupted the other, but had apparently pushed too far.

Sundryl stood up with his chair making an awful, screeching noise and intently hissed "I said,  _no_. You be careful, I don't just  _take it_. If you want to so desperately know about us,  _join_. Otherwise, I won't tell you anything. Now leave it alone. And don't even  _dare_ ask Delvin about it, either." The smaller elf then went on to stomp off, not really assassin- or thief-like at all, leaving his friend alone. Teasing him, when he was already in a bad mood and anxious, was not really intelligent. 

Despite finding the behavior at least somewhat funny, Brynjolf also felt a slight wave of guilt wash over him. He liked the guy and he already had had a bad day, it seemed. He had only made it worse. He'd have to apologize to the kid, if he got hold of him again...

Or he he wouldn't, because this was just far too intriguing to ignore. 

~~~~

'Ugh, I'm so thirsty...' Sundryl mulled, while working on a closed door the same night. But drinking wasn't his main priority right now. He had to steal at least  _something_ for the guild to appease it's members. And he also just wanted to get away from his friend, who was only pestering him. So here he was, lock-picking some poor rich-man's front door in Riften. With ease the door opened for him and he stepped inside the dark home. To his disappointment, the family living in it wasn't even at home, which took all of the excitement away. And his opportunity to have a snack as well.

The Dragonborn stuffed some fancy-looking jewelry into his pockets with slightly trembling fingers. It wasn't the thrill of stealing something, but rather the worry about Brynjolf, doing this to him. He trusted his friend, but he was still a  _criminal_. There was no knowing, what it would take him to tell on the elf. A few hundred gold? A few thousand? A nice looking woman? It was different with Delvin; always had been. He wasn't as reckless as his fellow thief and liked to stay on the safe side. But Bryn... He was surprised, he had even reached the age, he had. 

He left the main hall of the house, only to go to the bedroom and raid that as well. 'Oh father, what am I even doing here... I bet Cicero is already going nuts again, because I  _neglect_ mother. But what am I supposed to do? I can't just stop helping the guild or ignore the dragons attacking!' was all he could think about, while going through a drawer. He didn't know, what to do anymore. He couldn't lead three lives at once and he couldn't deal with them becoming one either. If  _anyone_ found out the Dragonborn was a thief and even assassin... it certainly would not end well for him. He should have never done this to begin with. He should have kept being  _just_ Dragonborn. But  _no_ , he had taken on more responsibilities than he could take-

"For an assassin, you aren't very perceptive, lad," was suddenly mocked behind him by the cause of his troubles, making him spin around. 

"B-Bryn! What- Can't you leave me alone for five minutes?!" he hissed upon that and angrily shoved the other away, who was standing far too close for comfort. He knew the thief was good at sneaking, but this was ridiculous! He could have killed him! "I told you not to follow me!" he added as well. Sundryl then proceeded to keep digging through the place, while the other thief kept pestering him. Perhaps if he ignored him, he would go away and lose his interest. 

Brynjolf didn't let himself be fazed by that and simply leaned against a wall, regarding what his friend did. "Well, our discussion wasn't really finished, now was it? And I supposed, you would be a little more  _talkative,_ when we're alone." He got no answer and was instead ignored. So he just kept on talking, until he got a reaction "I mean, how bad could it be?  _Delvin_ probably knows loads about you guys and it never bothered you.  _We_ already keep a secret together, why not another?  _If_ you can trust anyone with this, it should be your fellow... 'Nightingale', shouldn't it? Surely Nocturnal will protect you from me telling on-"

" **Stop**. Just shut up! Yes, we are Nightingales and I also  _mostly_ trust you!" the guild master snapped at the other, finally giving him the wanted attention. "But as my friend, you shouldn't pressure me to tell! Why do you even  _care_? Do you want to sell the information to someone, huh?"  he stopped his raid and faced the annoying human. 

"Sell the info? Hey, I'm your  _friend_ , I told you! Just call it...  _morbid curiosity_. And what's the pain in telling me, hm? It can't be  _that_ bad, if Delvin knows-" he kept on pushing, but it didn't gain him much. He only got a steaming elf approaching him, looking all sorts of murderous.

Sundryl shouted "Say his name one more time and I'll cut your tongue out! D-Delvin is  _different_ and it's not as if he  _really_ knows anything. He knows like two of our members and  _perhaps_ the location of our headquarters, but that's it! Now, will you  _go_?! You might have noticed that I am trying to make some money here! I don't have time for you,  _human_." He really did not. Sundryl had to return to the Sanctuary soon, ideally  _yesterday_. His family should have finished their contracts by now and he had to ask the Night Mother for new ones. 

"Hm... If you tell me, I would be willing to make money  _for_ you. That would cover up that you earn us far too little," Brynjolf did not go however, still giving his very best. 

"If you  _fuck off_ , I'll be willing to not send my brothers and sisters after you!" he declined the  _favor._ Seeing that the criminal was a little dense however, the elf decided to take a different approach and attempt to flee. Perhaps if he hid for a while and then continued his search for gold, he would give up eventually? Just as he was about to open a window however and gracefully jump out of it into freedom, the other Nightingale gripped his right arm to prevent it. 

Seeing he had no other available option, Brynjolf pulled the last trick out of his sleeve "At least tell me then, how I can join you! That much you can say, can't you?" If he joined the other had said, he would tell Brynjolf about it. 

Ripping his arm away, Sun made a move to finally punch the other in the gut, but was pushed against the wall and sandwiched between it and the warm human. He  _could_ free himself with a shout, but he really didn't want to hurt Brynjolf  _that_ much. How was he supposed to explain that to the rest of the guild? So with gritted teeth, he explained "You  _can't_. One doesn't  _ask_ to join like that.  _We_ observe interesting people for a few months and if they seem capable enough, we take them in."

"Yeah, but only, because they don't know anyone, who they could ask. I know you, though! Just make me part of it! Or ask your guild master," Brynjolf snorted, thinking that procedure was far too complicated. There were enough murderers available, why  _choose_? If they died in combat, it didn't matter. They were replaceable. 

He was not serious and Sundryl knew. To his shame, it even hurt a little. He'd  _love_ to have a friend like the thief in his family, someone relatively sane for a change, but he couldn't. Brynjolf would bail, once he saw the Dark Brotherhood for what it  _ideally_ was: A religious cult. "Bryn, I  _can't_. We have  _rules_. Also, you wouldn't want to be part of it. Not because of the murder, but because of the members and our...  _traditions_ ," his voice dropped a little, sounding more sad than angry now. He didn't even manage to look the other in the eye. He wasn't  _ashamed_ of the Brotherhood or Sithis per se, but he didn't want to lose the human. Nocturnal had been almost too much for him already...

"You're just saying that to keep me away. Assassins with  _rules_ , really? Now if you don't let me in, I'm going to find someone else, who can, lad! I have many contacts, you see," he bluffed and it made Sundryl chuckle for some reason. Although the elf was always pretty, it made him even more handsome. 

"It's not like there are many rules, but the five we have are important... Also, even if you find someone, I will personally prevent them from taking you in. Just keep being a thief, Bryn. You won't make any money and you won't like the family, trust me. And there is no going back, if you want to bail..." Sundryl tried again, but was growing tired of it. He was thirsty, cold and under pressure and this was not making it any better. If the situation were any different, he might have even enjoyed being squished by the warm human. 

Perhaps, he already did. 

Brynjolf of course took notice of the elf increasingly relaxing and his mind raced for options to abuse that. Using all of his  _incredible_  charm, he leaned in closer to the other and whispered lowly "Oh, come  _on_... there must be something I can do to bribe you~"  It made the elf blush a little; even the tips of his ears, which poked out of his blonde hair, seemingly reddened. "Oh? Tell me what you are thinking about! Money? Blood? ...something else?" he kept on teasing, but didn't dare go too far. He had known the wood elf for three years now, enough time to know, that the other had at least retained some of his innocence. He'd surely call him a creep, if he went too far. 

'Well, I am pretty thirsty and I won't have many chances to drink... But I can't make him a member!' he internally whined at the proposition, his vampire-side demanding to be fed. But perhaps he had an idea "O-Okay. If you let me drink, I-I'll  _ask_ , if you can join. But no promises!" Of course he wouldn't  _ask_ \- who would he even consult? Astrid's corpse?

That made the human freeze somewhat, not having thought it would actually work. Slightly put off, he said "Uh... Then we have a deal, I guess! Do we... do it  _here_ or...?" He had no idea, what to expect of it. He had never even knowingly  _seen_ a vampire before Sundryl became one last year. And no one really  _lived_ to tell the tale of how it felt to be fed on... 

Although it was tempting, the undead elf shook his head "No, I don't know, when the owners will return and I don't want to risk it. We'll go to my home." He was then asked, why they should even bother. They could have gone to the cistern after all. "Because  _you_ won't be very...  _active_ , after I drink from you and I don't want to cause a scene, if anyone walks in on us." With that he gently pushed at the other, so he would stop trapping him and they could exit the house. 


	2. Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brynjolf completes his part of the deal, but messes it up a little. Sundryl meanwhile plans to not fulfill the deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks lostclaw for the support <3

~~A few minutes later~~

As the two entered Honeyside, the human slowly, but surely, began having second thoughts. What if his companion offed him now, because he had over-done it? But he guessed there was no way out of it anymore, so he simply tried to ignore his worries. Inside, it was eerily quiet, as no one else was around. Not even Sundryl said anything, simply shrugging off his top part of the leather Thieves' Guild armor and putting it on a random table. Beneath he wore a plain, not really white shirt, as it had quite the amount of blood on it. 

"Were you hit, lad? If you need a potion-" Brynjolf already wanted to offer, but it was useless. 

"Thanks, but that's not  _my_ blood, so don't worry. I didn't have any other thin shirt here, so I had to keep wearing this one," Sundryl more or less explained. Even as a vampire, he surely wouldn't run around with only leather to shield him from the cold, but the armor was so snug, almost nothing fit beneath it. Seeing the human's questioning gaze, he went on to say "Well, if you want to become an assassin, you should get accustomed to that _quickly_. At least if you're messy, like me..."

While unintentionally gazing at the other also changing out of the shirt and into a thicker, green tunic, he questioned "You killed someone before you came here? Just how many contracts do you do...?" He wasn't naive; he knew Skyrim was full of people trying to kill each other. But how many contracts could there be? And how many assassins did they have in Skyrim? Surely not too many, if the elf had that much work and was that stressed out. 

Not seeing any harm in talking about something as mundane as the  _logistics of murder,_ he huffed "Well,  _yeah_. I only came here, because I was in the vicinity anyway. And uh... there are  _a lot_ of contracts, trust me. Some are pretty far away as well... It's also not like they can be done in a day, Bryn. Some take serious planning... and  _lots_ of luck."

"Sounds like the Thieves' Guild all over again. Are you sure Nocturnal isn't messing with you guys, too?" the thief awkwardly joked about it, not really expecting an answer. 

"Pretty sure..." he did get an answer however, while the blonde elf took his sullied shirt and dumped it into a basket with water and soap in it, quickly washing away as much as he managed. Afterwards he put it on a rag with another set of armor on it, which was red and black with a hand on it. Feeling his friend eyeing it, the elf sighed "The Brotherhood's armor. That's not really secret though, my friend." 

"Oh, I knew  _that much_. I saw some of you parading that in the cistern after all... was that you, by the way?" he wondered, but really only tried to get his mind off of the fact, he would be fed on soon. Sundryl nodded then, before walking over to a cupboard and opening it. It had a rather small chest inside, but it made the thief in Brynjolf  _very much_ interested. He wasn't disappointed, when the other pulled out a dagger, which looked to be quite unique. When the assassin strapped it onto his hip however, he worried "Planning on using that any more today?"

The wood elf smiled however "Not if you _behave_ , Bryn. But really, no. I'm just a little confused and forgetful as of late- wouldn't want to leave Riften without it." Really, he'd be lost without the Blade of Woe.  He then proceeded to close in on his friend and gently urge him towards the bedroom, making Brynjolf confused as well. " _Calm down_ ; I can hear your heart beating, you know? I just don't want you to faint and fall, when I drink from you, that's all. You don't have to be scared, it only hurts a little- at least by my standards. Either way, this was your idea..." the older man misinterpreted the quickening heart-beat a little.

Brynjolf uncertainly sat down on the edge of the bed, nervously swallowing. "And I won't turn, if you bite me, lad?" he made sure.

"Nah... Well,  _yes_ , but only if we don't heal you. And you wouldn't even become a  _real_ vampire like me. Now relax, okay?" his friend cooed, before invading his personal space and brushing away some of the reddish hair. Sundryl couldn't lie, he had dreamed of this before and he was excited to drink from a willing person. The slaves at the castle didn't really count. Neither did Cicero, who wasn't  _ever_ thinking clearly. 

While the thief mildly panicked, the Listener used one of his hands to make his neck display for him, so he had easier access to it. He inched closer, before letting his lips brush over the soft flesh and graze his sharp teeth over it. "You can still bail, if you want to. But once I'm drinking, I won't stop," he warned one last time.

Brynjolf felt a mixture of fear and arousal, the latter seriously putting him off. He had always found the other to be attractive and he wasn't adverse to having his way with men, but he had not thought Sundryl could make these feelings appear in him. Perhaps that was the reason, he wanted to know more about the assassins, too? Either way, he bravely nodded and soon hissed in pain, as fangs punctured his neck. He tried to shy away from it out of reflex, but the other tightened his grip on him and deeply growled, making him stop that at once. 

The feeling was impossible to describe. He felt oddly warm and the sucking wasn't all that uncomfortable, either. It made him more and more sleepy however and his hand, which had been gripping at Sundryl's shirt, loosened it's grip. Surely he wouldn't have been able to keep standing now, if they hadn't sat down and Brynjolf was glad for the other's foresight. The human now heavily leaned against the predator, his breathing coming out slow and weak. 

As far as Brynjolf could tell, the vampire was enjoying himself a lot. He certainly would be full on moaning, if it weren't that embarrassing, the thief assumed. But he only groaned then and there, sometimes growling, if his prey moved too much for his liking. He didn't even seem to ever get enough, greedily sucking faster and urging his friend to show off his neck more. 

"S-Sun... I think you had enough, l-lad," the human pulled him out of his craze at one point, as he felt himself about to lose consciousness. Sundryl didn't seem to be very motivated to stop, but did so in the end. Brynjolf was pretty annoying, but that was no reason to kill him. As soon as the wood elf let go of him, Brynjolf fell backwards and onto the bed, too weak to prevent it. Sundryl got concerned there for a second, but the thief still chuckled "...And- Was I tasty?" 

"Very much so, Bryn," the murderer nodded, before walking off to the kitchen and grabbing a health potion for his poor prey. He opened it and pushed it against the Nightingale's lips, forcing him to drink it. Not that the other minded- he had no intention of becoming a vampire. 

After that was done, Brynjolf managed to sit up a little and lean against the headboard of the bed. "So... What are we going to do now, huh? The night is still young!" he wriggled his eyebrows, which made the vampire smile. 

" _You_ aren't going to do anything, friend. You should rest," he noted however, sounding awfully like his own mother. 

"Well then, you should as well. My observation still stands: You look horrible. Can't go around assassinating people, when you're tired, can you?" the younger thief patted the space next to him on the bed,  _entirely_ selfish. He was only a simple man- if he saw a chance to have some  _fun_ , he'd take it. It wouldn't be easy, but getting the elf in the bed with him was step one of his plan. He didn't know, when these affections had started, perhaps the blood-loss was clouding his mind, but he saw no harm in pursuing them. 

Sundryl looked at him darkly then, before smirking "You greatly underestimate me, Brynjolf. And I'm not that tired; I'm a  _vampire_! I'm only a little stressed out, because I worry for my family, that's all."

"And sleeping is the perfect remedy for that! Come on- I doubt you're going to do anything productive this night and earn us something anymore, anyway. I'll cover this up for you, don't worry," Brynjolf insisted on it however. When Sundryl still didn't seem to be convinced, he added "What are friends good for otherwise? You've got to relax once in a while, Sun."

The vampire rolled his eyes dramatically, before going off to lock the front door and extinguish any candles. When he had made sure everything was in order, he let himself fall onto the bed and lay down as well. Instead of sleeping however, the two chatted about many things for another hour or so. Sundryl liked it- he hadn't had such a  _normal_ conversation in ages. All he usually ever talked about were  _dragons_ _, death, murder_ and _saving people_.

Brynjolf meanwhile had ulterior motives, using the nice chat to get closer to his friend. Using every pickpocket-expertise he ever acquired, the human snuck an arm beneath the other's almost woman-like waist and moved closer inch by inch. Either, he really was an incredible thief or the elf didn't mind all that much, since he didn't resist. Despite the vampire not being warm, it still felt comforting to hold him. With each minute, Brynjolf got a little bolder and started drawing circles into the other's side, waiting for a response. 

"...You know, you really do look pretty for a murderous assassin," Brynjolf complimented at one point, when it fit into the topic of their conversation. 

"I thought I looked horrible?" Sundryl chuckled, despite blushing the tiniest bit. He didn't cope well with flattery of that sort, never knowing, what to say. Brynjolf confused him as a whole anyway. He had always given him a lot of attention, but the human had become even more fixated on him as of late. A small voice of hope in him said, the other might have felt something for him. But his voice of reason was against that; the human was only trying to coax information out of him. 

Trying to do so with ease, but failing due to the blood-loss, the Nightingale shifted around and now leaned over the elf somewhat. "Horrible by your standards, but still above average. Say, why don't you have a ring on you yet? Or do you have a secret assassin-partner?" the human began prying again, although with a different intent. 

He snorted at that "No, I don't have a secret spouse or anything. I wouldn't  _ever_ take one of the family as my wife or uh...  _husband_. They are really lovable, but a little too crazy for my liking. Also, why rush? I'm only 85 years old..." He pouted slightly then, as the other man was laughing at him. He always thought it was sad, how fast humans aged. Even though he was 'really old', Sundryl still looked younger than Brynjolf. 

"Hm, that's a relief, though..."

"What is?" the elf innocently asked, but could guess, what the other was referring to. 

While letting the hand, which wasn't trapped beneath the other, roam about his fellow thief's stomach and hips, the red-haired human gave his best to sound seductive "That you're still up for the taking... Makes  _this_ easier." Before he gave Sundryl any chance to ask, what  _this_ was, he shifted more onto the older one and advanced on him. He quickly sealed their lips, which was a little awkward, since Sundryl had gasped in mild shock. But in the end, he had the other man right where he wanted him to be and Brynjolf moved his mouth against the other, more or less passive one. 

The Listener had no idea, what to do. He liked the feeling of warm and surprisingly soft lips moving against his, claiming him. After his first, initial shock, he even mewled slightly softly returned the kiss. But it didn't feel...  _right_. 'He is only doing this, because he wants to know about the Brotherhood. Once I tell him he can't join, he'll bail... This isn't honest," he pessimistically thought and soon pulled away with a look of utter confusion on his face.  "B-Bryn, you... Why...?" he incoherently muttered, while pushing away the other.

"Why? I thought that was pretty clear- I do  _fancy_ you quite a lot; what's wrong?" the human cocked his head and moved away slightly. He didn't see the problem. Sundryl had returned the kiss, so what was the matter? 'He doesn't expect me to  _marry him_ , before we do anything, does he? Perhaps I missed some weird elven custom...?' he tried to come up with a reason. 

The assassin's features suddenly hardened, when he hissed "D-Do you now? Or do you simply want to bribe me again? Pretty weird you never showed me this kind of affection before today..."

Oh. "That's not- That wasn't my intention at all! It's the other way around! I like you and  _that's_ why I wanted to know more about that 'family' of your's, Sun. I'm not  _that_ big of an asshole," Brynjolf tried to defend himself by telling the truth. He didn't dare to use the word  _love_ yet, though. He wasn't a woman, after all. 

The Listener didn't know, what to make of that. 

Because his intended seemed about ready to flee, the human quickly calmed him down "L-Look! We don't have to settle this  _now_. Why don't you go and see, if I can join and then we'll talk again. But I promise you, as your fellow Nightingale and guild master, that I'm not doing this to get you to tell me stuff, lad." 

"I think it would be better, if you went back to the cistern, Brynjolf..." the elf ignored his vow completely and  _nicely_ threw him out. 

~~Two Days Later~~

"Oh Listener! You are back! Mother has been waiting for you- But I promise, Cicero took great care of her!" the crazy jester greeted Sundryl, as he entered the Sanctuary in Dawnstar. 

The elf hugged him quickly, a privilege only he got to do, and cooed "I'm sure you did, Brother. How are things?" Even though the jester was pretty insane, he loved his Brother. What would a Listener do without his Keeper, after all?

"Hm... No one died- well, none of us did! Many, many others did! But oh, we've ran out of contracts... Perhaps you could listen to our lady?" Cicero informed him dutifully, although it wasn't really his job at all. While he was a little mad however, he was very reliable and loyal. The Listener could always be sure, the other would do anything for him. 

"Good... Yes, I will talk to her in a few minutes. I just need to talk to Nazir first," he promised, which made Cicero squeal and laugh, before he ran off to the Night Mother, Sundryl assumed. He sighed himself and solemnly walked down towards the main hall of the Sanctuary, doing his best to ignore his worries. He liked to separate his different lives- worrying about his complicated relationship to Brynjolf didn't belong here. 

He approached Nazir and Babette, who were sitting at one of the tables, not really doing anything. They of course heard him coming, so Nazir turned around to greet him "Well hello there, Listener. Good thing you're here- some initiates are already getting nervous. The youth is simply too impatient nowadays."

"Yeah, I'm going to give you a few new contracts, hopefully. Sorry it took so long, had to deal with a few things," Sundryl apologetically said to him, before handing him his last contract, he had finished. The Redguard gave him the meager payment. It was higher than a normal kill, since he had offed someone important, but it didn't come close to the money he would be making with the thieves.

Babette knowingly stated "Leading two lives can be difficult... but I suppose it's your choice. I'm glad all my relatives are dead; I wouldn't be able to pull it off!"

"Yeah, it's kinda stressful. But don't worry, I'll live," he played it off. The Dark Brotherhood, at least the members closest to him, knew about him being Dovahkiin and Guild Master of the Thieve's Guild. There was no hope keeping it hidden from them anyway and he didn't really care, as long as not  _everyone_ knew of it. Also, how else would he keep explaining to them, why they couldn't accept any more contracts for the Dragonborn?

After a bit more of friendly chatting, Sundryl made his way towards the Night Mother. Cicero excitedly danced upon seeing him, before grabbing sheets of paper and ink. He usually wrote down the contracts for the Listener. The latter simply approached the coffin, before kneeling down in front of it and waiting. It wasn't necessary to kneel, but he took his duty very seriously.

"Mother..." he whispered, although she probably already knew, he was there. 

At once, her familiar voice softly whispered back "Child, you've returned at last. I see you have completed all of your contracts, very good... But before you may receive new ones, we have different matters to discuss."

That was unusual. He looked up at her face in confusion, before inquiring "...Different matters, mother?" She seldom abandoned their routine of greeting, praise, and new contracts! He prayed nothing bad had happened.

"Yes. I want  _him_ to join."

"H-Him?" his eyes got wide as he asked for the answer, he already knew. She couldn't seriously mean Brynjolf, could she?

She coldly chuckled at him, making chills run down his back. "Yes, my Listener. Let him prove himself and then take him in. He will make a fine addition to the family."

"B-But mother-"

"No. Do as I tell you, child. Now,  _listen_ to the new contracts," she simply cut him off and dumped a dozen contracts on him. As always, he repeated them aloud for the Keeper, so he could write them down, but internally, Sundryl was panicking. He didn't want Brynjolf to join! Not only, because it didn't  _fit_ or they were fighting right now, but because it was dangerous. It would be easy for his friend to mess up and be punished for it...

Once they had written down all the contracts, the elf took all of them and carried them downstairs to Nazir, lost in his thoughts. 

"What happened? You look, as if you saw Sithis in the flesh, Brother," the other assassin eyed him in worry, as the vampire was even more pale than usual and looking kind of ill, although he had been fine mere minutes ago. He handed the papers to Babette, who painted her hand in black ink and smacked it onto some of them with great pleasure. 

Sundryl didn't even register being spoken to at first, until the Redguard snapped his fingers at him "U-Uh... I might have. M-Mother wants me to make a-a friend of mine join, but... I-I don't  _want to_. It just doesn't... He just isn't an  _assassin_!" He sat down at the table as well, watching Babette  _improve_  the contracts and hope for advice.

"Then...  _don't_?" Nazir cocked an eyebrow. He didn't really care for the religious aspect of the Brotherhood and all the Night Mother-stuff. He was just in it for the killing. Also, their Sanctuary had done well without her, too.

"A-Are you crazy? I'm the  _Listener_! I  _listen_ and  _obey_. I can't just  _not do it,"_ his voice rose a few pitches, as he felt lost. His fellow assassin shrugged with his shoulders then, before reading through the new contracts and beginning to assign them to different people. In disappointment, Sundryl rested his head on the table and tried to calm down. 

'I have no choice... I  _have_ to! This is all my fault; had I been more careful, Brynjolf would have never found out about any of this. Why would she even want him to join? He doesn't even enjoy killing- I doubt he killed more than a handful of people! Sithis, why are you doing this to me?' he freaked out nevertheless, but knew it was useless.

Brynjolf would join and there was no way out of it.

 


	3. Meeting a new family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brynjolf has to pass a challenge to join the Brotherhood and then meets the family. Sundryl and the Initiate are quite unsure in their relationship.

~~A Week Later~~

What had he done? Brynjolf sat in the Ragged Flagon, like he had all week, and mulled over his stupidity. Driving away Sundryl even more had not been the plan! Now he might have lost one of his friends, whom he even liked in  _other_ ways, and one of the Guild Masters! He should have never advanced on him like that. It had been too quick and out of the blue. How was he supposed to make it up again? It would be impossible to find his friend, if he didn't want to be found by him and the thief had nothing to offer as an apology. He could only hope for the elf to return and forgive him. 

He ordered another round of mead, the only thing consoling him right now. Delvin and the others had already tried to ask him, what was wrong, but he hadn't dared to tell them. It was too embarrassing. 

So that was why he was sitting alone in the bar, safe for the barkeeper, in the early hours of morning. Every other thief would be sleeping right now, tired from stealing all night long. But Brynjolf had not stolen  _anything_ these past days. How could he, when he was this troubled? He was bound to mess up and end up in Riften's prison. But his endless circle of self-pity soon came to an end, when a certain blonde elf approached him. At least Brynjolf guessed, it was Sundryl- he wore his full set of the Brotherhood's armor and hid his face.

Before the elf could even say anything, the human straightened his back awkwardly apologized "Sundryl, I'm sorry for what happened and-"

"It's okay, Bryn. It doesn't matter anymore. Come with me," the Listener half-depressedly sighed, before motioning for the other to follow him into the Ratway. The thief wanted to ask, what this was all about, but Sundryl kept cutting him off. He was a little worried this would be it. The assassin was leading him to some remote tunnel, so he could kill him. But it was quite the opposite.

After what had felt like hours of walking through the labyrinth of tunnels, they approached a wooden door, which the other Nightingale swiftly opened. As Brynjolf froze in front of it upon seeing the room's content, Sundryl took his arm and pulled him inside. "W-What the- who a-are these people, Sun?" he gasped then, upon seeing three people tied up and blindfolded. 

"Your challenge. I have a contract for one of those people. Find out whom, kill them," the Listener neutrally instructed, as if he were talking about Skyrim's weather. At once the people began begging for their lives or insulting them. Sundryl had gotten a young Argonian merchant, an imperial soldier and an elven bandit. He prayed Brynjolf would bail and not do it, although it was wrong to do so. Mother would surely scold him again. But this was his last chance to do so! Once Brynjolf joined, there was no way out of it. 

"You can't be serious! Can't I only kill the guy, you  _want_ me to kill?! Just tell me, who it is!" the thief freaked out and yelled at his friend. He had killed before; lots of times actually, when heists had gone wrong. But this was different- these people had done nothing wrong, it seemed.  

Well, at least the red-haired human took a different approach than him. He had simply killed  _everyone_ ; it relieved him Brynjolf wasn't like that. Still "No. Choose, friend," was all he ordered. It didn't matter anyway. He didn't have a contract for any of them and he'd have to kill them anyway. The Dark Brothers and Sisters always cleaned up after themselves. 

Brynjolf was visibly stressed and anxious, not coping well with the decision. But he had to do something eventually, didn't he? It was either him or them, he supposed. Also, if he declined he wouldn't get to join! So he took in a deep breath and started questioning the prisoners one after the other, seeing if he could find the one. The soldier and bandit were simply scared and didn't seem all that unpleasant. The Argonian merchant however was rather bold and insulted him, although he was in no position to do so. The thief concluded, that it must have been him then and shakily took out his dagger. 'What's wrong with me? I wanted this and I did it before! Hell, I fought in a war before...' he mulled and readied himself to take a life.

Sundryl watched on in interest, not surprised at the choice. The lizard-man soon made a horrible gurgling sound, as Brynjolf slit open his throat with eerie precision, surely having done so before. While the other prisoners doubled their efforts to flee and cry for help at the noise, Brynjolf only stood there. 'He isn't a killer, Mother... Why are you doing this? Assassins are supposed to kill without thought! He's probably feeling guilty...' he couldn't understand the Night Mother's decision. Usually, he would not have taken in an Initiate, if they behaved like that. But he had to. "...Good,  _Brother_. Now you are part of our little family," he officially welcomed him.

The new Initiate regarded his bloody dagger with unease and turned towards his friend. "A-And? Did I choose the right one?" he demanded to be told, so he didn't feel as bad about it.

"It doesn't matter, Bryn. Don't you understand? Guilt, innocence, right, wrong.... Irrelevant. What matters is I ordered you to kill someone, and you obeyed," he used the same words, Astrid had said to him. She might have been a traitor, but she had been right. "Death is inevitable for all of us, we will all join the void at some point," he drawled, before walking over to the last two prisoners, taking out the Blade of Woe and finishing them off as well, "...some just join it earlier than others."

"Y-You just..." Brynjolf next shied away from Sundryl, who was slowly approaching him with his dagger still in hand. His usually rather handsome, perhaps even  _cute_ , friend scared him all of a sudden. "Are you g-going to-" he asked in fear, knowing full well that he stood no chance against the vampire, if he wanted to kill him as well.

With mild amusement, he backed his fellow thief into the nearest wall and invaded his personal space. He could hear the other's blood rushing through his veins too fast and his breathing coming out in a just as fast pace. Not wanting to give the other a heart-attack however, he put his dagger away and instead embraced Brynjolf with a slight chuckle "Of course I will  _not_ kill you. Who do you take me for? I wouldn't ever hurt my family, Bryn."

The human let out a sigh of relief then and wanted to return the hug, but Sundryl was already stepping away from him again. "You're an asshole, lad," he simply huffed in annoyance about himself getting scared that easily. 

"Should have thought about that before signing up for this. You'll be around me  _much more_ now..." the Listener smiled, anticipating it more or less. He was convinced by now, Brynjolf had indeed said the truth before: He hadn't tried to get close, because he wanted to get any information. Why would Mother ever want to take him in, if he did? So although he worried for Brynjolf's general safety, a small part of him loved him being part of the Brotherhood now. 

"So uh... What comes now? Do I... Do I get contracts now? From you?" the thief cocked his head then, having no idea. 

Sundryl then smirked, before explaining "Not so fast, Brother.  _You_ will have to meet our little, dysfunctional family first and learn a few rules. Can't have you running around and getting into trouble, can we? Travel to Dawnstar and search in it's north for a stone door with a skeleton on it. It will ask you a question. The answer is:  _Innocence, my Brother_. There we will meet again."

"Why don't you just come with me?" Brynjolf raised an eyebrow, not seeing the sense in it. A door asking him a question? Rules?

The elf fished around in his pockets for a piece of paper, before holding it in front of his face "Because I have places to be and people to kill, Brynjolf. I'll try to be there before you, but no promises. If I'm not, talk to Nazir and Babette...  **Stay away** from the jester, though. He's a little...  _difficult_." He put back the contract and made a move to exit the room, abandoning Brynjolf. 

The thief had other ideas however and prevented his escape by pulling him in by his arm and holding his waist with one arm. Sundryl expectantly regarded him, not mad however. "B-Before you go; Are  _we_ uh... alright? I mean, last time we saw each other was a little..." the human said and tried to articulate his point by flailing around his free arm.

"I told you, it doesn't matter. You proved to me that you're being honest. At least I  _hope_ you are, because it will end badly for you, if you are not," he warned then, but without trying to sound too threatening. Brynjolf looked at him uncertainly, seemingly undecided on what to do next. Wanting to make up for his prior distrust, Sundryl sped up the decision.

While standing on his tiptoes, because he was smaller than the human, he neared the other's face and sealed their lips shortly, before letting go again. The new assassin was surprised by that, but needn't be told twice, what that meant. He pressed the lithe elf against himself a little more demandingly, before kissing him again. Sundryl then encircled his neck, pulling him down more as well with a slight moan. He enjoyed the warm lips on his relatively cold ones and greedily moved against them, wanting to get closer to Brynjolf. The latter's hands began wandering downwards a little more, kneading the wood elf's butt, which made the other dangerously nibble the human's bottom lip with his fangs. 

Sundryl ended their session then, not wanting to get  _too_ excited. He still had matters to attend to, after all. He leaned back a little in the hold of the other, before toying with his armor slightly and awkwardly advising "... D-Don't do that, when we're in the Sanctuary with other family-members."

"Why not, lad? You don't take the whole 'family'-thing  _literal_ , do you?" he was questioned by a confused Initiate.

"N-No, but... I shouldn't go around making out with Initiates. O-Or rather, Initiates shouldn't try to get _into_ _my pants,_ " he elaborated, but it seemingly didn't clear much up, as Brynjolf asked him for a reason again. "Because I'm kinda  _special_. I'm kind off like... third-in-command? At least if you count Sithis and the Night Mother as well and considering there are no Speakers left, I'm the only mortal in charge of the entirety of the Dark Brotherhood," the Listener added then, but soon sighed "Let me guess, you didn't get any of that? I promise it'll be easier to explain, once you're in Dawnstar." 

"Okay..." Brynjolf blinked repeatedly, trying to process the information. 

Sundryl next separated himself completely form his friend, if he should even call him that anymore, and pointed out "Now, I really do have to go or my plan won't work out. See you in two days or so, stay safe." He apologetically waved and then finally exited the room, vanishing in the dark of the tunnels.

'Off to Dawnstar it is then... I really do hope things'll clear up. What is all this Sithis- and Night Mother-stuff about?' his head spun already. He too made his way outside afterwards, not wanting to stay with the three corpses. He had almost forgotten about them until now, too preoccupied with the vampire. Brynjolf tried not to think about them, while walking towards the Ragged Flagon. 

Before he could make his way to the Sanctuary however, he had to make a few preparations. The travel would take two or three days and he'd rather not do it unprepared. So he gathered a few supplies in the cistern, while a few of his fellow thieves regarded him questioningly out of their beds. One of those thieves was Delvin, who had kept an eye on the two Guild Masters anyway. He watched Brynjolf do his packing and approached him, once he seemed to be done.

"And where are you going, hm? You wouldn't happen to head that  _assassin's_ way?" Mallory asked, which made Brynjolf freeze in his tracks. The former then motioned for him to follow him to a relatively private corner, before darkly saying "I have a suspicion on what you are doing and I don't  _like_ it one bit, Brynjolf."

"I have no idea, what you are talking about," he played dumb, although it was useless. Delvin had known him for most of his life, he could tell he was full of shit.

The other human raised an eyebrow, before snorting in annoyance "Stop the act. Sundryl dragged you into his little 'family', hasn't he?" He liked doing deals with the Brotherhood, but that didn't mean he thought highly of them. At least under Astrid, they hadn't been as crazy.

"Just leave it be, Delvin," Brynjolf suddenly understood, what his elf had felt. Being interrogated like that felt horrendous. 

Shaking his head, the older thief laughed "That's a yes then. Brynjolf, do you even know, what you've gotten yourself into?" The Guild Master had always been reckless and sometimes a tad bit naive. The Brotherhood was nothing like their own guild. It was a  _cult_! Brynjolf then asked him aggressively, how _he_ would know anything about it, he didn't know himself. "I've dealt with those lunatics for over a decade, friend. Enough time to catch a bit of information here and there. The Dark Brotherhood is a cult; they worship  _Sithis_ of all things. This is worse than your ordinary daedra-sect, Brynjolf!" he elaborated for him.

"You're exaggerating. I doubt Sundryl even does that, so it can't be that important to them. Nocturnal is our matron as well and  _nobody_ cares," he ignored the warning, deeming it untrue. Sure, the vampire had talked about Sithis before, but not in a praising manner or anything. 

"Their last leader died, because she didn't care. I knew her- she was pretty reasonable for one of them. I doubt they will make the same mistake twice," Delvin shouted after the other, while he walked out of the cistern. He only wanted to protect the Thieves' Guild from harm, which included Brynjolf and Sundryl. The latter was a lost cause to him, but he wouldn't give up on his other friend yet. He guessed once the red-haired one got to know the Brotherhood more, he would bail. He  _hoped_ he would. 

~~Three days later~~

Brynjolf had just arrived in Dawnstar, exhausted from his travel. He rarely visited the hold, as it's inhabitants weren't all that wealthy and there was not much to steal. It was also pretty cold. 

'Now, where is that door?' he wondered, while heading towards north. Some people were looking at him funnily, while he did so. He guessed they already had their suspicions about his destination. He wondered, why the Sanctuary wasn't in a more remote place- wasn't this unnecessarily dangerous? Either way, he soon found the door and stood in front of it. 

" _What is life's greatest illusion_?" it asked, like Sundryl had told him.

It took a second, but he soon remembered the answer "Uh... Innocence, my Brother." He briefly worried about it being correct, but the door slowly opened for him. As he stepped inside, his pulse quickened. He still wasn't quite sure, if this had been the right decision, but there was no going back now. He did this for Sundryl in some way or another and he also had no intention of getting killed. 

Inside, he descended a few stairs, only to meet someone new pointing his curved sword at him. "What's your name?" the Redguard demanded to be told, while inching closer. The human held his hands up in a peaceful manner, before giving him his name. "Ah... Sorry for the rude welcoming, Brother. Always got to be alert. I'm Nazir, perhaps Sundryl told you about me. Anyways, follow me; I'll show you the place," Nazir apologized. In reality, he had known full well who Brynjolf was, but he liked to scare the newcomers. Showed them their place right away. 

The thief nodded and did just so, only to stop after a few more steps. "Sundryl?" he called softly, as he saw the elf kneel in front of an open coffin with the jester leaning against a wall nearby. As he saw the contents of the coffin, he whispered "What the-"

"Oh, he's busy right now talking to Mother, but he'll meet you later. Just leave him be for now," the Redguard pulled him away however. Brynjolf could tell though, Sundryl had very much heard him by the way his ears had perked upwards slightly. Still, he followed the other man downstairs and let him show him the Sanctuary. It was better than the cistern in some places, safe the torture chamber perhaps. As of yet, he didn't see the problem with the Brotherhood. Sure, they were killers, but who had not bloodied their sword before? 

After having been shown the hideout, Nazir gave him a new set of armor, which looked identical to the others'. He met a few other Initiates, before getting to know Babette. She pulled her usual "The Dark Brotherhood is holding me captive! Please rescue me, kind Sir!" joke on him and like everyone else, he fell for it. 

"W-What? You uh... You take the children?!" he turned around to face Nazir, who chuckled and shook his head. 

"No, they don't," the vampire-girl cleared it up then "I'm part of the Brotherhood, have been for a  _looong_ time. I'm the oldest person here!" He didn't get it immediately, but once she flashed her fangs at him, he did. Brynjolf laughed it off then, already growing fond of the little girl. He was then asked a few questions about himself and got to know his new family more, until Sundryl joined them. 

He walked over towards his not-quite-friend and hugged him briefly to welcome the thief. "Good to see you in one piece, Brother. I see you already got to know most of the others as well," he smiled and took a step back. He'd rather not have everyone pester him about their kind of relationship, when he himself couldn't quite place it yet. He couldn't say, he  _loved_ the human- he strongly liked him! But perhaps that would change yet. 

"Are there many more people, I should know?" the other Nightingale inquired them, guessing there would be tons of assassins. How would they take on contracts outside of Skyrim otherwise? There must have been small outposts everywhere. 

Sundryl nodded more or less, before stating "A few more, but uh... our numbers are pretty low as a total. The Dawnstar Sanctuary is our last, all the others were destroyed or abandoned. We're about fifteen assassins in total right now. But don't worry, we're working on getting our numbers up again. Wouldn't want our  _competition_ to take over the market." Most of the assassins had a look of disgust on their faces, when Sundryl talked about the Morag Tong. There were more important matters to deal with however "Anyways, let's not think about that now. We'll go over a few more things now, Bryn. Follow me."

The red-haired man did just so, following the other through the complicated layout of the Sanctuary and to what seemed to be the private quarters of someone important. Sundryl motioned for him to sit down at a table in it; meanwhile he simply sat  _on_ the table himself.

While combing through his blonde hair with a hand and pushing it aside, he smiled a rather sad smile "You know, I'm very happy to have you here, Bryn."

"You don't really look like it," Brynjolf noticed then. He missed the  _old_ Sundryl, the upbeat, happy one. He looked so exhausted and unhappy these days...

"Because I don't think, it is good for you to be here. Me being happy about you joining is entirely selfish," he looked at him apologetically, while his friend raised an eyebrow. Sundryl went on explaining then, as he saw the other trying to interrupt him "No,  _listen_. I don't think you're incapable to assassinate someone, you'll probably be pretty good at that. No, the problem is a different one, which you, or anyone outside the Brotherhood, can't know about. Bryn, we aren't  _just_ an Assassins' Guild- just like the Thieves' Guild isn't  _just_ that either."

"I don't understand-" the human helplessly pointed out, at which his elf gently gripped at his shoulder to stop him. 

The Listener sighed "We are a  _cult_ , Brynjolf. And we don't keep it a secret from any family-member, like the Thieves' Guild.  _Everything_ we do is done in the name of Sithis, our Father. We kill to send people into the void, until we ultimately become part of it as well. The Brotherhood has stirred form this belief for quite some time and it has brought nothing but destruction to us. That's why we're only so small as well- Our patron and matron were displeased with us. But this has changed and  _I_ am seeing to it staying like that."

He needed a moment to process all that information 'Delvin told me the  _truth_?! By the gods...' He couldn't believe it! He looked at his fellow thief for help, but got none. So he tried to see, if he had misunderstood perhaps "S-So... The Brotherhood requires the assassins to worship Sithis? But if he is the Father, who is this  _Mother_ then? A-And why do  _you_ enforce those rules even? Are you the leader? And-"

The vampire stopped him then, before it got too complicated. "It's not like  _usual_ worship. We don't have an altar or anything like that to pray at. Just kill for him and never,  _ever_ badmouth him, alright?  _Good_. Mother is Father's bride,  _obviously_. She was an assassin like me and  _you_ a long time ago, before she killed her five children for him and became our matron. Nowadays, we still have her corpse and the Keeper, Cicero, takes care of her."

"So that was the thing, you were kneeling in front of..."

"Yes. Now I have to ask: do you know, why our sign is a hand? What the Black Hand is?" he cocked his head, but Brynjolf shook his head in turn. "Of course not. The hand represents the ruling body of the Brotherhood. I am the Listener, the  _thumb_ of the hand and I'm third in command more or less, like I told you. The four other fingers are the Speakers. My job is to, well,  _listen_ to the Night Mother. Only I can hear her whispers. That way she tells me, who wants to make a contract on whom and other things.  _Normally_ , I would tell the Speakers to then assign those contracts to the assassins or do whatever Mother wants us to do. But uh... all the Speakers are dead. So  _yeah_... It's only me and the Keeper, who coordinate the whole guild right now," Sundryl gave his best to explain the structures of the Brotherhood, without confusing the Initiate too much. The 'normal' assassins weren't supposed to know about the Black Hand of course, but they did  _anyways_. So he saw no harm in telling him about it. If there were any, he wouldn't tell anyone, who the Speakers and Silencers were, however. That was a secret, he wasn't willing to share. 

"O-Okay..." was all Brynjolf could manage to say, quite over-whelmed with everything. It all sounded like a scary children's tale to him.

Feeling pity for the other, Sundryl jumped down the table and instead sat atop his  _friend_ , holding his face in his hands. "Bryn, I know this is all a little much, but we faced this before with Nocturnal. Don't worry about it that much. Mother and Father aren't even that  _important_ to you right now. All that matters is, that you follow our five tenets:  Never dishonor the Night Mother, never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets, never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood superior, so uh, _me._ Also, never steal the possessions of or kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis, yadda yadda yadda. Those shouldn't be too hard to follow, huh?" 

"Invoke t-the wrath of Sithis...?" the human wondered, what that was about.

"You will be tortured or worse by  _us_ , if you do," Sundryl chirped, as if it were nothing. "But I wager that you won't be doing such things... And  _please_ , don't try to bail now, it will also end badly for you. Just...  _do, what I tell you to do_ ," he added on a second thought, scared Brynjolf might try something funny now. He didn't want to be assigned to kill his companion. 

The thief tried his best to ignore the craziness of all of this, telling himself he had chosen this for himself. "Don't worry, I won't break those rules and I-I won't run away either. E-Even if this is pretty insane, you must admit," he laughed slightly to appease the other, before leaning in and kissing him shortly. Sundryl became putty in his arms right away, deepening it. While Brynjolf started embracing his slim middle, he encircled his neck.  

The Listener felt relief wash over him once more, glad the other was seemingly okay with everything. After a short while, the vampire let go of him, before resting his head on the others' shoulders, close to his neck. "Thank you for being so...  _supportive_. I was really worried you would try to run o-or not want  _this_ anymore," he murmured, although  he had no idea himself, what  _this_ was. The Brotherhood? Their friendship? Their  _love_?

"I wouldn't ever get tired of you and you can't scare me away that easily either, lad," the Nightingale answered, seemingly knowing, what  _this_ was. He soothingly rubbed over his elf's back, intending to relax him somewhat. He wanted to make the old Sundryl come back, but didn't know how. He prayed joining his family would make him happier again. The vampire then yawned, which made him propose "Well, someone's tired! Why don't we get us some shut-eye, hm?" He knew for a fact, the undead-one wasn't sleeping enough, saying it was unnecessary. He had a different opinion.

"I can't... I promised Cicero to get him new oils for Mother from Winterhold. He can't tend to her without them," he slightly shook his head in disapproval. 

"Hmpf. Well, does he  _really_ need those  _today_? It's pretty late already and I doubt any shops will be open, once you arrive there. Come on, Sun," he pointed out, only for his Dark Brother to grunt. Knowing there was no other way, but force, Brynjolf forced one arm beneath the elf and stood up, holding him bridal-style. 

"H-Hey! I'm not a child!" the older elf gasped upon that, but made no attempt to free himself. He let himself be carried up the small flight of stairs to his very rarely used bed, before being lowered onto it. 

The thief laughed then "Well, you very much behave like one," as Sundryl was sitting up on the bed with crossed arms, pouting. He walked over to the other side of it, laying down as well besides the wood elf. 

"Cicero would  _so_ kill you right now, if he saw this," Sundryl huffed in fake annoyance, but it wasn't that much of a lie. When Brynjolf asked him, why he would do that, he answered "He is quite...  _jealous_ over me and the Night Mother and wants to protect us. He means no harm, even if others say so. Cicero doesn't have that stable of a mind and clutches at anything or anyone being nice to him or giving him security. Me being Listener also comes into play. I'm his only way to get to  _hear_ Mother at all and it drives him nuts, if I'm endangered. So that's why you should not be  _affectionate_ with me around him. Trust me, you  _don't_ want him to get mad. You are no match for him in combat."

No match? That hurt the other man's pride "Well, he shouldn't be jealous. He doesn't  _own_ you! I think we should just do it in front of him, that'll teach him-"

" _You_ don't own me either,  _Brynjolf_ ," Sundryl intervened at once, hissing slightly. 'Well, talking of being jealous... That won't do.  _Dragons_ don't belong to anyone,' he internally growled, dragon-instincts kicking in. They rarely showed, but if they did, they were strong. 

Not knowing how to place that comment, the Initiate went on "But this isn't just! He can't forbid you of being with someone."

"He can't and he doesn't.  _I_ am saying we can't and you should  _listen_. I am doing this to protect the both of you- Him from breaking and you from getting killed. Don't cause a scene, Bryn," the Dragonborn sternly ordered to the other's disapproval. Seeing it wasn't working out that way, Sundryl decided on a different approach however. He shuffled closer to the other man, before laying a hand over his heart and softly saying " _Please_. I only want everyone to be happy... I mean, w-when we're alone, you can do anything you want to me. Just not, when he's around." 

"...Anything I want? That's a dangerous thing to propose, _my_ little elf. But I  _guess_ , I could live with such a deal..." Brynjolf smirked then, seemingly appeased and a million ideas rushing into his mind. The wildest images of bending the cute assassin over the nearest table popped up- 

Sundryl only smiled sheepishly then, before resting his head on his chest innocently. 'How can a deadly assassin of the Brotherhood look so peaceful and adorable? Shouldn't he be scary?' he thought, but was glad it was this way. Instead of pursuing his former plan, Brynjolf encircled the small waist of his vampire, deciding on really resting for now. Sundryl and also he himself needed it greatly. The fun could wait for now. Brynjolf also felt kind of guilty for thinking those lewd thoughts about the elf- he  _looked_ innocent. Well honestly, despite the killing and thievery, the Initiate had no idea, if Sundryl ever had indulged in anything  _not_ innocent. Had he ever shared his bed with anyone before? Brynjolf had never heard him speak of past lovers or anything... 

He lazily toyed with the long, wavy hair of the Listener, who seemingly had already drifted off. While deflowering the Dragonborn sounded tempting, there were more important things to do. Making Sundryl happy and refreshed again was one of that and with joining the guild, he had taken a big leap in achieving that. Surely the elf would be happier, now, that his love was with him?

He hoped, that's what Sundryl felt towards him anyway. 

 

 


	4. First times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brynjolf and Sundryl both aren't entirely certain, if the other's love is genuine. A contract goes wrong and Sundryl is scolded by the Night Mother. It all ends in one big fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uff. This took so long, but I wanted to have all of this in one chapter. I guess there will be one more, but maybe none as well. I have to think about it. 
> 
> Until then, many thanks for the 4 kudos! It's not much, but I guess the fanfics about Skyrim are just kind of unpopular. I mean, the game came out 7 years ago... I'm a bit late to the party <.<
> 
> EDIT: No more chapters.

~~The next day~~

Sundryl hadn't slept that well in  _ages_. He was still securely cuddled up to the warm human, who was slightly snoring and holding him close. The Listener really had better things to do than this, but he took the risk of being selfish just once. He still had to get the oil, finish a contract and also fight a dragon nearby, but relaxing for once was just way too tempting. Also, he enjoyed Brynjolf  _not_ talking right now. Not that he found him annoying, there were different reasons.

If Brynjolf talked, Sundryl would have to  _decide_. But he didn't  _know_ , what he felt towards the other. He couldn't decide, whether he loved him or if it was only platonic admiration. He liked kissing his  _friend_ , he loved having him in his family more or less, but still... The assassin had never been in such a situation before! He had never had a lasting relationship with anyone. His parents had tried to set him up with a nice girl, when he had been younger, but he had declined. Sundryl was by no means a virgin, but he had never slept with someone, because he  _loved_ them, sometimes not even, because he _wanted_ to. He simply had had one too many meads and had become reckless...

He sighed then, annoyed at his own indecisiveness and carefully shuffled away from the Initiate. He couldn't deal with him waking up and declaring his undying love for him or anything. So Sundryl exited the bed silently, before sneaking off and away. It was rather quiet in the Sanctuary. The Initiates usually didn't live there and went home, if they weren't needed, so it was quite empty. Instead of leaving to do his tasks however, he needed to appease his _hunger_ first. As drinking from Brynjolf was impossible, as he would awaken then and Nazir never wanted to offer himself, he searched for Cicero. He was glad there weren't any others there to annoy him right now, while he searched for him throughout the Sanctuary. 

The Listener soon found his Keeper rather peacefully sleeping in a secluded area, dagger readily lying next to him on his bed. Still, he walked over towards him, took his dagger, so he wouldn't slice him open, and gently tapped at his shoulder. 

"GAH! Who dares to intrude- Oh, Listener! Excuse poor Cicero's behavior, I didn't mean to be rude," Cicero screamed at first and wanted to grab for his weapon, but soon recognized his favorite assassin. 

"It's alright. Here, your dagger-" Sundryl smiled in understanding, before handing back the deadly object. He didn't blame his friend for being scared easily. All assassins reached this level of paranoia at one point, this wasn't one of the Keeper's oddities. While the Imperial sat up on his bed and expectantly waited for orders, Sundryl uneasily requested "Cicero... I know I'm asking this quite a lot of you as of late, but uh... can I feed on you?" He felt bad for doing it so often. Drinking from Initiates was out of the question, though- he didn't want to depend on  _low ranked_ assassins. The Nightingale was vulnerable while drinking and he'd rather not trust people, who've been there for four months. So that only left the Keeper.

The latter already chirped "Oh, yes! Of course the Listener can! It would be a great honor for Cicero, indeed!" The vampire felt guilty nevertheless. Cicero was  _never_ sane, not even for a second and he was abusing that and his worship for his position. But his hunger outweighed that feeling, so he never not went through with it.

"Thank you, Brother," he sheepishly stated, before leaning over the small, sitting frame. What put the elf off most, was that Cicero wasn't even scared of this. His pulse had a monotone feel to it, steadily pulsing and not once quickening. He didn't smell like fear either, just  _neutral_. He couldn't understand, how the Keeper could trust him like that. Brynjolf and everyone else had always been scared, besides  _other things_. 

Either way, he gently brushed away strands of hair form the other's neck, before putting one finger beneath his chin. Cicero obediently tilted and exposed his neck for him then, already accustomed to the procedure. Without much further ado, Sundryl sank his fangs into it and began sucking, while a slight shudder ran through his jester. The Dragonborn happily kept on drinking for a while, neither of them making a sound. Only the noise of swallowing and breathing could be heard. Soon Cicero started to become increasingly soft beneath Sundryl, slowly threatening to fall backwards onto the bed again. 

That realization made him stop his feeding, letting go of the human at once and scolding himself. "A-Are you alright, Brother?" he quickly inquired.

"...The void feels rather close, Listener, b-but Cicero will be fine," the jester assured him and let himself be positioned on the bed. 

"I-I told you to warn me, when you're blacking out! Sometimes I think, you  _want_ me to kill you... Let me get you a potion," Sundryl shook his head and patted his friend's chest slightly, before walking around the nearest corner. 'Ugh, someday I'm going to accidentally off him! I really need to get a better source... He's so willing to do anything for me, he won't even warn me he's about to die! This is horrib-' he ranted inside his head, until he walked straight into someone else. "Oh! S-Sorry, I...  _Brynjolf_? What are you doing here?" he stared at his fellow thief in confusion. 

His friend looked at him like a deer in headlights. He stammered "I u-uh... I was just wandering around, s-searching for you! You were simply gone all of a sudden, lad!" 

Sundryl cocked his head "I told you I have things to do today and am I not allowed to leave your side? What would have happened to me here? This is one of the safest places in Skyrim!" When he got no answer to that, but a few panicked looks, he concluded "You're a bad liar Bryn and you know it. Why did you follow me?" Brynjolf had obviously been hiding behind the nearest corner, listening in on what he and Cicero had been doing.

"I... I just wanted to see, what you were doing and  _stuff_. N-Nothing more!" he got as a response then. 'By the nine, why did I do this? Of course it would go wrong-' the thief thought in worry. But seeing that lying was only making his elf angry again, he confessed "O-Okay, maybe that's not totally true.  _I did_ wonder what you were doing, so I followed you. A-And when I saw you going to this Cicero-guy, I stayed a-and..."

"...And?"

"And kept an eye on you! I-I thought you would try to kill him with his dagger, when you took it and you said he was dangerous and all, s-so I wanted to be there, in case something went wrong! B-But then you bit him... Why didn't you just ask  _me_?" Brynjolf put the blame for it back on Sundryl. Well, perhaps he had also been a little jealous and wanted to see, what the two would do. But the biggest part of him really had worried!

Despite expecting him to shout at him now, the elf simply began shaking his head in disbelief " _Brother_ , no! This must be the silliest thing I ever heard, Bryn, and I met Sheogorath before! I am capable of defending myself, thank you very much. And I didn't ask you, because I wanted you to keep on sleeping. Also, Cicero doesn't leave the Sanctuary anyways, it's okay for him to be vulnerable like this after me drinking from him." He couldn't believe it. The other Guild Master was always concerned for his safety! He had understood that, when he had first joined the Thieves' Guild, but not anymore! He had defeated Alduin, Harkon and had killed people right in front of Brynjolf as well. He was by no means defenseless. At least that's what Sundryl tried to remind himself of. 

While Brynjolf reddened from slight embarrassment, Sundryl walked away shortly to get a potion for Cicero. His only relief was, that he hadn't screamed at him _yet_. When he returned, Sundryl stalked closer to him though, before pressing him into the nearest wall with quite the amount of force. With a slight growl, the Dragonborn reminded "Do  _not_ follow me again, Brynjolf. It will only get you in serious trouble. And you can stop your jealousy right about  _now_ as well; there is nothing going on between me and Cicero." As his friend tried to interject, he added "No, don't pretend like you aren't. You could have left the moment I bit him, but you stayed nevertheless. Brynjolf... I can't have you trying to limit or baby me. I-I appreciate the sentiment and all, but I don't need it."

Well, at least Sundryl wasn't too angry with him, he guessed. "I'm sorry... It's just- Every time I see you, I have to remember the adorable, little thief joining our Guild and messing up his first few contracts. And  _yes_ , I  _might_ be a little jealous. How can you blame me? Everyone would want you for themselves..." he tried to justify his actions a little, which made his companion snort in amusement.

But it also led to an interesting idea being formed inside the elven mind "Hm... Then let me prove to you, that I am not so helpless anymore. You are going to accompany me on my contract today. Dress well, we're going to a party." Besides proving a point with it, he'd also get to show Brynjolf the way the Brotherhood dealt with things. 

~~In the evening~~

After having 'bought' Mother's oils in Winterhold, Sundryl and Brynjolf walked over the bridge to the College. It was a  _relatively_ sunny evening for it being so very cold and the sun painted the sky orange. While Sundryl wore a blueish, fancy mage's robe, Brynjolf sported the clothes of a true nobel. The latter had one arm wrapped around his elf's middle, making him prouder than it should. For Sundryl it was more for disguise than anything else; at least that's what the Listener told himself. 

"So... did I get this right: We're going to attend a party at this College for mages, where you are A _rchmage_ at, just so we can off some important mage from Elsweyr? Since when are you even a mage? When did you become the head of the College?! No wonder you're always stressed out!" Brynjolf scolded him slightly. He had seen the elf cast  _easy_ spells before, which many thieves used for their job. But an Archmage? He must have been so much better at magic, than he thought! What else didn't he know?

The older assassin smiled to himself then, amused at his Initiate's confusion. "Oh,  _you know_... I simply got a lot of training from a Brother. He always thought, magic was useful for assassins. He isn't with us anymore, though. He joined Father, when the Sanctuary was attacked. And I became Archmage, because of lots of coincidences and me rescuing the College. It's not that important- I never come here anyway. They only want me to lead the school, because I'm Dragonborn and it makes more students come here, but it also keeps the Imperials away," he shrugged. His titel was more for show than anything else. He wasn't Archmage, because he was that good of a magician. Although he supposed, Festus would be proud of his progress.

They then had to shut up, as they entered College grounds, where a few  _friendly_ guards were patrolling. Brynjolf got slightly sweaty palms there. There were a dozen or so guards just  _waiting_  for assassins like them to try something funny on any of the high-ranking mages. Worst thing was, Sundryl had forbidden him to help out- he was only there to  _watch and learn_. 

Upon entering the courtyard, where the main festivities took part, Mirabelle approached them and greeted the Archmage "I have to say, I'm so glad you showed up for this. If this goes right, we'll get exchange students from all around Tamriel! Who is your lovely company by the way?" Sundryl couldn't care less about the College getting new students, though.

While answering "Oh, he's my  _husband_. Thought it would be nice to show him the College," the hand resting on his hip started drawing slight circles into it and he could  _feel_ Brynjolf's smirk. He gave his best to ignore it. 

"How wonderful! Nice to meet you, Sir. Anyways, it would be very kind of you to talk to all the Archmages of the other colleges, Sundryl. Your presence will surely convince them of sending us exchange students," the woman proposed, before walking off and talking to a foreign mage as well. 

"Husband, huh?" Brynjolf pulled the elf closer towards him then. Surely this meant something! 

The Listener blushed and sheepishly murmured "I-It's only a cover...," but the human wasn't having it. He leaned down slightly, a hand at the back of Sundryl's neck tilting his head, and kissed his smaller assassin. He wanted to get a point across with that, but it never reached the elf. The Dovahkiin didn't know what exactly, but something was holding him back. 

Between kisses, Brynjolf breathed an "I love you," which only served to make the older one's confusion worse, as his eyes widened. The other thief very much saw that look of shock and stopped sealing their lips to ask "...What's wrong?" Wasn't this, what the Dragonborn wanted as well?

"I-I..." the vampire began saying, but didn't end his sentence. He couldn't decide! He couldn't lie and say, he loved Brynjolf, because he didn't like him that much. He couldn't break his heart either, because he  _did_ like him! Lucky for him, he spotted his target in the distance behind his  _friend_ and declared "There he is! The t-target! Q-Quick, we have to talk to him! Before he uh... uh gets away!"

Although being a little irritated by the lack of response to his confession, Brynjolf did as told. He supposed Sundryl was simply very keen on completing his contract. They walked over to a Khajiit Archmage from a faraway College for mages. Someone wanted him dead and Sundryl was about to make that someone's day. He politely offered him his hand, before introducing himself as the Dragonborn.

The male Khajiit then took the hand, mindful of his claws, and said "Dar'Jo is pleased to meet you,  _little elfling_." Despite not appreciating the name, Sundryl played the cat's game. He needed to gain his trust and that wouldn't work, if he insulted him or started a fight.

Brynjolf meanwhile seemingly wanted to say something against it, but Sundryl stopped him by angrily stomping on the other's foot and declaring "This is my husband by the way! Anyways, how was your travel to Skyrim?" He decided on making a little bit of small-talk for now and get a feel for the cat's personality. After only a short while Sundryl found out, the Khajiit was a self-loving asshole, which made the reason for him being here apparent. He was glad about that however; assassinating good people was far harder.

Brynjolf quickly got 'bored' and left to get a mead or two. In reality Sundryl had instructed him beforehand to leave him after a while, so he could do his thing. It would be way harder for him to separate the other mage from the crowd with two people, as it would seem too suspicious. This way Brynjolf could lie about his absence for him, too.

"Say, do you have a partner as well? It can be so hard to be Archmage and have time for the family," Sundryl stirred the topic to another one, hoping he'd find a vulnerable spot. 

"Dar'Jo never settles for one person, it distracts him from work and restricts him. However," the Khajiit stopped his talking, before invading the vampire's personal space slightly and purring "Another Archmage would certainly be a profit for both sides." Sundryl could smell the stench of alcohol in the cat's breath, explaining his slightly aggressive flirting somewhat. 

He played dumb "A-Another Archmage?" Throughout his career as an assassin, he had come to learn that many men were easily tricked by seeming to be an easy lay. Most didn't even care he was a man either, he looked feminine enough for them. There also was that thrill of fucking  _the_ Dragonborn, he supposed. It disgusted him to say the least.

Perhaps Brynjolf only wanted him in that way, because he was a trophy?

The taller Khajiit raised one of his grey-white paws to the elf's face, gently rubbing a thumb over his cheek, before pushing his blonde hair behind his ear and caressing the latter as well. "Dar'Jo considers this one to be quite beautiful. He also thinks, he would be better off without the human. Can he even cast a spell? Surely he is holding your potential back. Dar'Jo heard you seldom come here anymore," he kept on low-key purring, stroking one of the other's pointy ears, even scraping a claw along it. 

Despite the action disgusting him impossibly so, the vampire couldn't help, but enjoy the feeling. It wasn't his fault- elfs simply had very sensitive ears. So he blushed cutely, hiding his hatred, and sweetly said with a chuckle "Thank you... I-I don't know, what to say. But I suppose he  _does_ prevent me from fulfilling my duties." Meanwhile he could feel Brynjolf intently observing the two of them, probably jealous again. If anyone dared to touch Brynjolf like this in front of him, he would also become jealous. That he blamed on his dovah-nature however, wanting to possess everything and everyone, and not on his affections for the thief. 

"Of course he does, Dar'Jo is always right, little one. He bets the human doesn't take care of you either. Look how he simply abandoned you to  _drink_. Typical human, he thinks! Dar'Jo will take good care of you from now on," the grey and white Khajiit  _promised_ , his tail flicking back and forth behind him. The Listener would have loved to strangle him right then and there for the comment. 

"Oh, I don't know... I don't even know you that well! P-Perhaps we could talk in private more?" Sundryl tried to get the cat to  _finally_ come with him to his quarters, so he could end his stupid rambling. He got angrier with every insult to Brynjolf, but also more insecure. The thought of being nothing, but a trophy didn't leave him alone. Brynjolf had gotten more interested, ever since he had found out more about him. He had been pretty mean to him in the beginning, before he had known about him being Dragonborn. When the thief had found out about the Dark Brotherhood and him being Listener, his affections had doubled. Perhaps he'd 'love' him even more, now that he was Archmage?

Dar'Jo nodded with a pleased purr, before letting himself be led to the tower, where Sundryl rooms were. The second they were away from prying eyes, the cat had his hands back on him. He pulled Sundryl in by the small of his back, before forcibly placing a kiss on his lips. The elf would have loved to slice his throat open then and there, but he'd rather do it further away from the door, where they couldn't be heard that much. So he let himself be groped and unpleasantly kissed, the feeling of fur putting him off. 

Letting go to breathe slightly, Dar'Jo more or less moaned "Mh- Dar'Jo never had such a pretty elf before. The students are always ugly and cry so much. But this one went willingly... He will make everyone hear him take you, elfling." He went back to forcing more kisses on his prey, massaging the round butt of him, before fiddling with the other's robe. 

"S-Students? What do you mean, willingly? Weren't they-" Sundryl couldn't help but blurt out in shock, trying to get away from the hand untying his mage's robe. 'Suppose they don't just want him dead for being an asshole... How can one fall so low and rape their students? Father, I'm going to enjoy this," he deduced by the prior comment.

"This one asks to many questions," the Archmage simply hissed, before pushing him into a wall nearby and holding him there with a hand on his chest. Enough was enough, the Listener decided and tried to reach for the Blade of Woe strapped around his middle to end this little game, just to find it gone. "Mh, why would you ever need a dagger now,  _novice_? Just  _enjoy_ this, elfy. Or don't and Dar'Jo will take you anyway- your choice," the target taunted him, before ripping open his robes and revealing milky, almost flawless skin. He gave his best to push the aggressor away, but since he had fed this morning, he wasn't all that strong. So Sundryl soon found himself trapped between the taller and heavier man and the floor. 

He panicked from that, unpleasant memories he had deemed lost resurfacing. Before he could decide on what to do against this however, which was very difficult in his state of mind, an arrow suddenly struck the floor next to his head. That mad Dar'Jo and  _him_ frantically search the room, both unsure, who that had been meant for. Sundryl used that chance to push the unsuspecting cat off of him, scrambling up and closing his robes. While doing so, Dar'Jo had found the intruder and was now firing diverse spells at him. 

It took the Listener another second to spot him between the colorful spells, but he soon found his rescuer to be Brynjolf. The latter was currently doing his best to evade the spells thrown at him, only to be hit by one and be thrust into the nearest bookcase. The more experienced assassin still sneaked up behind the Khajiit then, before choking him with one arm, making them tumble backwards and land on the floor. Despite all of that, Sundryl didn't let go until he was feeling the target  _stop struggling_ in his arms, having an advantage from his position. He hated becoming this manual in his killings, so up-close and personal, but there was no other way. Once the cat's heart stopped it's beating, he let go of him and ran over to his probably injured friend. 

"Bryn! What were you thinking- I told you  _not_ to follow! I-I would have managed," he scolded the reckless Initiate right away, before kneeling down next to him on the floor. Brynjolf was bleeding at the back of his head and his left arm was positioned at an odd, unhealthy angle. 

"Not the thanks I expected, Sun," the Nightingale spat out in pain. On a second thought he inquired "H-How bad is it? Can you heal?" They couldn't sneak off with a broken arm, a trashed office and a corpse in the Archmage's rooms either. They were in serious trouble. 

"You won't die, but  _I_ can't heal that," Sundryl suddenly regretted never having learned any advanced healing spells. A health potion wouldn't help here anymore. Brynjolf's bones would probably grow back together all wrong.

Trying to stand up, but failing because of the pain, the thief asked "And now? What do we do?" 

Sundryl looked equally as lost as him, nervously swallowing. He tried to hide his hands shaking from Brynjolf, not comfortable with showing his shock from the prior happenings. His mind raced for an answer, but the only thing that came up didn't sound all that great to him either "We have to tell the others the truth, more or less. Dar'Jo separated me and tried t-to...  _rape_ me, but you came here. Then we all fought, you got hurt and I strangled the Khajiit. T-That's the only thing we can do." Brynjolf nodded at that, not having got something better either. His elf then ran to the main door and Brynjolf could hear him faintly call for the guards, before passing out from his injuries. 

~~~~

When Brynjolf came to his senses again, he found himself in utter nothingness. He couldn't tell, where he was, how much time had passed or whether he was still alive. He supposed, he was either dead or dreaming. But he had never had such a dream before, floating in dark nothingness. He could hear himself breathe and his heart beat steadily, but nothing else. It was deathly cold, even colder than in Winterhold and he felt incredibly alone. 'Is this Nocturnal's realm? D-Did I die? But I always remembered it differently... Shouldn't she be here, if it was?' he thought. 

He turned around to look for  _anything_ , but there was just nothing everywhere. Being out of ideas, Brynjolf called "H-Hello? Anyone there?" He felt a sort of _crushing_ presence all around him suddenly, although not seeing anything- Suddenly he felt the  _dream_ fade, his consciousness shifting, everything becoming realer-

Until he awoke with a gasp and tried to sit up, only to find he could not. 

"Bryn! By Sithis, I'm so glad you're awake-" a warm weight settled atop his stomach, gently sobbing, called. Regaining his bearings slowly, he recognized it as Sundryl, who was resting his head on him. They were in some kind of hall with a few beds in it, people running around and seeming busy. 

"W-Where...?" he uncertainly brought out, not recognizing the place. He was laying in a bed, though, so it couldn't be half bad. 

Sundryl watched up then, dark circles beneath his slightly puffy eyes- he was still weakly crying now. "Still at the College. D-Don't worry though, everything's alright and everything went  _as planned_. We won't face any charges, we had the right to kill Dar'Jo. B-But I was so worried for you; when I came back, you were simply passed out and you stayed like that for two days! Y-You had internal bleedings, because y-your bone cut into a vein. I'm so sorry..." his elf sniffled in shame, knowing it had been his fault. He should have noticed Dar'Jo had disarmed him!

With his right arm, Brynjolf gently patted the Listeners head to calm him down, while assuring him "Nah, it's alright. I'm still alive, lad."

"I was just so scared to loose you, Bryn. I wouldn't be able to take it! You mean so much to me..." Sundryl admitted then, taking comfort in his Initiate's administrations. "And it would have been all my fault. I should have noticed being disarmed o-or at least reacted differently! I-I could have just shouted at him or turned, b-but I was panicking a-and-"

"It's  _alright_. Everyone makes mistakes, even the _grand_ Dovahkiin, Sun. We'll be fine," Brynjolf cut off his rambling, before wiping the last tears form the elf's face. 

Sundryl didn't seem all that convinced "M-Mother will surely punish me, Brynjolf. I'm not  _supposed_ to mess up. Me messing up could  _end_ our little family. If I die, replacing me will take ages- we don't have that much time, though. P-Perhaps she'll forbid me from taking on contracts now, like Cicero..." He looked truly miserable at the prospect of being forced to stay at the Sanctuary  _forever_. He didn't want to go mad like the jester.

"I'm certain she won't. And if she does, I'll have a word with her. She can hear me, right?" the younger human started joking around to cheer his intended up. 

Sundryl snorted in amusement "That's not how any of this works, Bryn. The most that will happen is that you'll be send into the void for dishonoring her." 

"Surely not even she can resist my charm, lad," he kept on grinning, making Sundryl return his smile. While motioning for him to come closer then, he sat up and urged his elf to sit on the bed as well. Paying everybody else no mind, he gently held Sundryl's head to make him tilt it and give him easier access to his soft lips. Someone awkwardly coughed to make them stop, but Brynjolf wanted to get his fill out of his elf after nearly not getting the chance to do so ever again and having him  _assaulted_. He got so needy he pulled the poor Dovahkiin atop his lap more or less, embarrassing him in front of his students and fellow mages. 

"Ngh- Bryn, not _here_!" the Archmage scolded him with a whisper and Brynjolf stopped his doings, albeit not letting him escape his grip.

Placing a last, apologetic kiss against his neck, he whispered "I know, sorry.  _I love you_ " 

There they were again, the  _accursed_ words! At once the Listener froze again. But as Brynjolf noticed that and he saw the amount of hurt in the Initiate's eyes, he answered reluctantly "I-I love you as well, Bryn." It wasn't a lie. Although he had been worried to be nothing, but a nice trophy in the beginning, a fuck one could brag about, he had decided to take this risk. Brynjolf had willingly sacrificed his life for him- he wouldn't do that, if he was lying about his affections for him. 

This time it was Sundryl, who initiated the kiss, although intending it to be a chaste one. At once they were scolded by one of the healers however, a nord woman "Archmage! We are all  _very_ glad your spouse is feeling well again, but if you want to do  _that_ , we'll have to ask you to leave." Sundryl nodded in understanding and pulled at Brynjolf to make him stand up and save them from any more embarrassments. They left the College grounds and took a carriage to Dawnstar, too tired to walk. 

While having his elf lean against his side, Brynjolf brought up something else "Have you... Have you ever  _seen_ the void? Have you ever been there? And uh,  _Father_? What does he look like?" The more he thought about his dream, the more he got the feeling he had been in the void. Nothing had been there, so what else would it be?

Being unprepared for that question, Sundryl raised an eyebrow "Well, I haven't  _been there_. I only felt it. I felt it every time I was close to death or in-" he cut off suddenly, regarding their driver in worry. Perhaps talking in front of him wasn't the wisest decision. Then again, who would believe a carriage-driver spreading rumors of the Dragonborn being an assassin? So he went on "-w-when I was in Oblivion's planes. It's cold and empty, but still familiar. I was scared of it at first, but now it feels welcoming. And Father... Well, I've been told the sight of him drives one into madness, even in death. But I don't know for certain. I sometimes  _h-hear_ him." He had a slightly frightened look on his face suddenly, although trying to hide it. 

"How mush worse than Mother can he be?" Brynjolf guessed talking to a corpse or an evil god wasn't that big of a difference. "I mean, Nocturnal was nice enough. Rather demanding, but not too frightening."

The Listener stared at him in disbelief "Mother is a mortal like you and me in the end and Nocturnal a Daedra. Sithis is...  _different_. He is the creator of the Daedra, so he is above them and not one himself. And he isn't  _worse_ _than Mother_ , Bryn, you're going to get yourself offed if you talk like that. If you were someone else, I would have punished you already. He is simply incomprehensible. He is the void,  _nothing_ , but he is  _something_ at the same time."

"But how does it feel to hear him?"

"Scary. He isn't speaking in any tongue I know, but I still get parts of it. But it  _hurts_. It hurts so much to have him in my head, he's simply too..." Sundryl had problems finding the right word, so he settled for something easy " _grand_. The way he talks and thinks is too difficult and  _big_ for me. A mortal simply  _can't_ think of or be void. I don't know, how else to describe it. With Mother it's simply a voice speaking to me, like you would. But he is  _in_ my head. W-Why did you even ask? I never had an Initiate ask such a complex question..." 

The human thief soothingly stroked at his lovers sides, warming his own hands in the process. He suddenly felt silly, but still told him "When I uh... was unconscious, I had this  _dream_. I was floating in nothingness for a while. I felt incredibly cold and alone... I almost thought I had died. Then I called to anyone really for help and I felt this extremely _heavy_ presence crushing me... I know it's stupid, but I thought it was the void perhaps..."

"That's..." Sundryl looked rather dumbfounded " _unusual_. I don't... I'll have to talk to Mother. I have a suspicion, but I'm not sure." He then simply remained silent for the remainder of the ride, letting himself be cuddled, while their driver was adamant to speed up and get rid of these  _odd_ customers. 

~~~~

After having closed his contract and collected his money from Nazir, who was put off by his fidgety behavior, Sundryl ran upstairs to the coffin. Brynjolf had no idea what to do in the meantime, the Listener not having told him anything. He decided he wanted to watch on, while Sundryl did his thing, curious in what would happen. When he saw the jester guarding his lover however, he had the feeling he shouldn't. So he made himself invisible with the help of Nocturnal instead and stalked closer to the scene, practically watching over his elf's shoulder. Sundryl was kneeling before the corpse again, hands neatly folded together in his lap. He wasn't saying anything, which surprised Brynjolf and also disappointed him- how was he supposed to eavesdrop now? The only thing he heard was a faint "Yes, Mother." 

His wait soon payed off however, as something interesting transpired. Sundryl suddenly looked up and turned towards Cicero, ordering "go." The Keeper halted his slight jumping around then, nodded and walked off, luckily not seeing Brynjolf or walking into him. Next thing the Nightingale knew however, was the Listener knowingly gripping his arm, although it was impossible to see and pulling at it. It ended with Brynjolf toppling over with an unmanly squeak, lying on his stomach next to Sundryl's kneeling form.

"Why were you listening in?" the Listener had a slight death stare on his face. 

"U-Uh... I didn't know, what I was supposed to do and I was curious," he admitted, uneasily getting up. He didn't like having a rotten body in front of his nose and wanted to stand up to get some distance. His lover had different ideas however and kept him down, getting him to kneel as well. 

"Be careful with your curiosity,  _Initiate_. You could have simply come over here, there was no need for you to sneak up on me, as if you were trying to assassinate me," Sundryl dryly noted then, although he didn't believe in his Mother's prior warning. 

The other assassin promised "I wasn't about to do something like that,  _Sun_! And this Cicero-fella didn't look, like he wanted visitors."

Cringing at the disrespect, Sundryl sighed in dismay, as the Night Mother warned "Discipline your Initiates, child. Especially  _that_ Initiate. Your personal affiliation shall not cloud your judgement."

"Y-Yes, Mother," he whimpered, knowing what that meant. If Brynjolf  _fucked up_ anymore, not only he would get in trouble, but also the Listener himself. And he'd rather not whip his lover in that context or  _worse_. 

"Now do as I told you, my Listener.  _Enact my will_. May the Brotherhood live forever," she whispered to him. It made him miss the days, where she had only praised him for his accomplishments, where he had made his Father proud. Nowadays, she sounded so harsh. 

He repeated his tantra of saying "Yes, Mother," making Brynjolf feel a little left out. He wondered, what they were talking about. When Sundryl turned around to face him, he looked even more tired than usual, but also slightly happy. " _Initiate_ , we have to talk about a few matters. First off, don't call me by my name anymore, when we're with the family, it's disrespectful. That includes  _Mother,"_ he started his lecture.

"W-What? Why?! I don't-"

" _Obey_. Call me Brother or Listener, it doesn't matter. Mother scolded me for going to easy on you and she is right. You broke two of five tenets, that's  _two too much_! You disobeyed me repeatedly and dishonored the Night Mother," he went on and interrupted his lover, before he'd make any more mistakes. He saw Brynjolf feeling slightly  _betrayed_ of sorts, so he softly pleaded " _Brother_ , please! If you don't follow the rules, I will have to punish you a-and I'll get punished as well, because my Initiates are unruly. Just call me the right names, follow my orders and don't talk about Mother, as if she were nothing, but a corpse. S-She sacrificed so much for Sithis- she deserves to be honored.  _Please_."

He hated those rules and didn't feel comfortable with them, but loved Sundryl. So he agreed "Yes,  _Listener_." It served it's purpose and made his elf smile for him sweetly, reaching over and kissing him briefly. 

"Thank you. Now to more important things. Mother explained the meaning of your dream to me. You've been promoted," the vampire grinned, but his favorite human cocked his head in confusion. 

"But I haven't done anything yet?" he pointed out. 

"Well, besides breaking the rules a lot, you also potentially saved my life. But that isn't even the main reason.  _I_ didn't become Listener, because I did so many great things, either. Sithis simply took a liking to me, saw my potential, deemed me trustworthy. You're a  _Speaker_ , Brynjolf. And as such you're entitled to pick a Silencer, a private assassin to do your bidding. I would wait with that though, you hardly know the others. More importantly, you're part of the Black Hand," the Listener dutifully informed him. 

That was unexpected. "A-And now? What am I supposed to do?" he inquired. He knew only a little about the whole matter through Sundryl.

"I will  _listen_ to Mother, give you the contracts and other orders, you see to them being done. Normally I wouldn't take on any contracts myself as Listener, but you're the only Speaker and so  _new_ to all of this, that I pleaded Mother to let me keep on doing that. Most importantly however,  _don't_ tell anyone, you're in the Black Hand. The normal assassins aren't even supposed to know about us, but they do anyway. So at least keep that secret. The only ones you can talk about that with are me and the Keeper, understood?" he explained it in more detail.

"Okay. But why the Keeper? I thought there were only the Listener, the Speakers and those Silencers in the Black Hand...?"

"Yes, but although the Keeper isn't an official part of it, he is my second in command. He is higher-ranked than you," Sundryl cleared it up. 

Brynjolf nodded "I think I should be able to pull that off. Hm... Can  _you_ be my Silencer, though?" It would be the most comfortable, but also trustworthy choice for him. 

The Listener laughed "No, I can't. But I'd  _advise_ you to choose between Babette or Nazir, once you get to know them better. In the end it's your choice, though. Now, if you don't have any more questions..." His lover shook his head. "I'd  _love_ to take a break now. And I'm sure you're more tired and hungry than me, too. You didn't eat in two days, Brother," Sundryl stood up and stretched, before closing the Night Mother's coffin. Cicero always lectured him about keeping it open and 'taking away Mother's privacy'.

Next he wanted to leave the room, but was put to a stop by Brynjolf hugging him from behind. While nosing at his Dragonborn's neck, occasionally biting into it, the thief purred "Thank you for still keeping up with me, even though I'm bad at following rules and such." Sundryl only contently hummed, leaning back into the warm body and enjoying his neck being toyed with. "Now I don't know about you,  _I_ am not in the mood for food or rest..." he continued his assault of Sundryl's neck, before letting one hand slide down and palm the front of his trousers. 

"Ngh- Yes, but not  _here_!" the elf slightly bucked into it, but then wriggled free from his grip. "Poor Mother won't like that very much, Initiate," he awkwardly coughed and motioned for him to follow, while he swore he could hear a woman chuckling. They snuck into the Listener's private quarters, hoping no one would disturb them. Once there, Brynjolf had his hands on his favorite assassin in an instant, pulling him closer and crashing their lips together. While the older one clung onto him for dear life, deft fingers of his worked at the other's clothes, undoing his belt with weaponry strapped to it, making it fall to the floor. After that he pulled open the last layer of cloth unveiling almost flawless, white and soft skin. 

Brynjolf greedily stroked over the smooth chest of his lover, before going upwards and brushing the robes off of his shoulders, making them pool at his elf's arms instead. Feeling unfairly treated, Sundryl went down to business as well, making the thief pull off his jacket and shirt for him. Having to step away slightly for that, the Initiate really got his first full view of Sundryl, who was letting his robes slide down and onto the floor himself. Just now he noticed scars on his waist; relatively big dots, which formed a half-circle. He stroked over them in interest, making the Dragonborn shudder "What kind of weapon was that?"

His elf cringed a little, not enjoying the memory at all, but he wanted to be honest to Brynjolf now "None at all. Alduin wanted to have a taste... He bit me in a fight, which  _almost_ killed me. Guess I was lucky I didn't taste that well or he would have eaten me." He joked about it to make it easier, though. In reality, it wasn't funny at all. It had hurt more than anything else he had ever experienced and it had almost made Alduin win. 

Not liking the uneasy look on his Listener's face and feeling guilty for causing it, Brynjolf pulled Sundryl towards the bed, gently forcing him onto his back, before taking of his own boots and trousers. Soon he towered over the Dragonborn, whose hair was covering half of the bed it seemed. He timidly stroked over his human's shoulders and his back, unaccustomed to feeling so small beneath the other. His negative past experiences also didn't help. He had been on the receiving end before, but he had never felt so vulnerable. He had never given someone all of his trust like this, always being prepared to kill his partner, if things went south. Not even having his dagger with him right now made him feel all funny inside. He could of course use magic, but it just didn't feel as secure. 

Seeing the sheepish look on Sundryl, Brynjolf made sure "You can always tell me to stop." He still wasn't quite that certain, whether his elf was a virgin or not. By the way he looked, he was. While the other nodded  in understanding, Brynjolf started kissing and biting his neck, heading downwards. On his way he made sure to also direct his attention to one of the only scars on the Dragonborn, who made a weird, strangled sound at that. 

"N-Not there..." he whimpered, while warm lips kissed atop the marks Alduin had left on him. It was still an open wound to him, reminding him of his near failure. It was also still a miracle to him that he had ever won against the dragon. 

The thief got the message quickly enough, apologetically going elsewhere. It soon led him towards the other's bulge, already being half erect. After freeing it, the Speaker began pumping up and down firmly, making his lover softly mewl and buck into it once and again. His thief's cock had an average size, but was entirely hairless. Soon growing tired of giving him a handjob like a blushing virgin, Brynjolf took it a step further.

"Bryn- Y-You don't have to-" Sundryl gasped at being engulfed by the warm wetness of his lover's mouth, feeling even warmer to his own cold skin. He tried his best not to thrust into it and make his friend gag, but it was hopeless. Sundryl had not had the time to indulge in these activities with someone else or even  _himself_ for a long while, desperate for release. Sadly Brynjolf didn't seem to enjoy the abuse of his mouth all that much, preventing it by firmly holding Sundryl's hips down. " _No_ \- Please don't!" the elf started begging for more to no avail. So the only thing he could do was helplessly grip at the reddish hair of his lover, urging him to go faster, and moan out his name as encouragement. 

He was getting closer, the human thief could tell, so he  _stopped_. It made the Listener want to kill him right then and there, trying to reach for his cock and do it himself then. But his lover had other plans, catching his hands and pinning them above his head. "Why so impatient, lad?" he began teasing, only getting a low growl and a flash of teeth in return. "Such a scary  _dragon_ you are," Brynjolf chuckled, before kissing the Dovahkiin's forehead- He didn't want to risk getting bitten now by those long fangs. Sundryl only turned his head to the side, evading his kiss and pouting. That wouldn't do though.

The younger human attacked the elf's ear then, a vulnerable spot Sundryl had not thought about. "Ah! S-Stop-" he gasped in a mixture of pleasure and pain, as his pointy ear was being nibbled at. 

He  _did_ stop, but only for a second to whisper "If you ask nicely, lad..." He then immediately went back to his torture, one of his hands even sliding downward and pinching a rosy nipple. 

Although being too prideful for it under normal circumstances, he started pleading again " _Please_ , please stop it! J-Just get on with it, ngh-" 

"You want me to take you?" Brynjolf pried, intently grinding his hardness into the elf. 

"Y-Yes..." Sundryl whimpered, painfully hard by now. Finally the thief stopped his assault, instead leaning back slightly and rubbing a thumb over the Listener's lips. Sundryl opened up his mouth then, greedily accepting three fingers, sucking at them, sometimes grazing his teeth over them. Brynjolf suddenly regretted not having him suck him off at that, but that could wait. Surely this experience would repeat. In the meanwhile he shoved the Dragonborn's legs apart, spreading him open, and took his fingers out of the vampire's mouth. After jerking of his lover for a few seconds, Brynjolf started inserting one finger after the other, stretching him ever so carefully. Surprisingly, Sundryl seemed to be rather accepting of the pain, pushing back into the thrusts and trying to hit that special spot to make him scream.

The Nightingale couldn't help, but blurt out "You seem to have done this before..." A rather big pinch of jealousy making itself known along the disappointment of not getting to deflower his lover. 

It put the elf off to say the least, albeit still lewdly moaning at the penetration "Mh, y-yeah. Disappointed?" There was no real venom behind what he said, although he felt a little baffled. He was by no means a virgin. It hurt his pride a little, though. 

"N-No.." Brynjolf badly lied, but hit Sundryl's prostate, so the other didn't really care anymore. The thief took it as a sign to advance, despite the growing hurt in his heart. He suddenly had the feeling, he wasn't all that special to his love. Surely _the_ Dragonborn had plenty of people to choose from, so perhaps he was just another lay? It made him doubt the Listener's relationship to the Keeper again.

Not wanting him to see the look of sadness on his face, Brynjolf roughly turned him around on his stomach, before pulling up his butt. He wanted to get this over with now, so he positioned himself behind the vampire, not all that slowly pushing in. "B-Bryn, s-slower..." Sundryl almost chocked on his own words. Although he had a certain tolerance of pain, having experienced enough of it through fights and torture, he wasn't all that into it in this situation. It didn't turn him off per se, but he'd rather do without. 

The human didn't listen, _wanting_ Sundryl to be in pain _as well_. Once fully emerged in the tight coldness of the undead one, he started moving in and out too quickly. 

"Agh- Bryn!" Sundryl started whimpering in pain below him, but didn't try to stop it. He supposed it was simply Brynjolf's way of doing it; humans were always a little rougher than Bosmer, he had been told. He didn't  _enjoy it_ , but one had to make sacrifices in a relationship. 

Deliberately avoiding his lover's special spot, he fucked into him as he would with a  _common whore_. No feelings, simply wanting to get off. He knew he was being irrational, but he couldn't help it. Sundryl was only using him to get off, too! All his talk about his big feelings for him had all just been used to get him into his bed. Or they had only transpired out of shock, because the Speaker had almost died. Perhaps the Listener was even doing this as a compensation for saving his life?

The more Brynjolf lost himself in his thoughts and accusations, the more aggressive his thrusts got. It got to a point, where the Bosmer couldn't handle it anymore "S-Slow down!" Tears started streaming down his face, getting the impression this wasn't just simple roughness. Brynjolf  _did_ slow down, but only once he released inside the Listener, filling him with his hot cum. He then slid out of him and sat at the edge of the bed, although Sundryl had not gotten off at all. Instead, he was trying to hold back his sobs. He collapsed atop the bed, two visible bruises on his hips from Brynjolf gripping him too hard, while he was sure, he would be bleeding from his bottom, if he weren't a vampire with fast healing. He painfully sat up as well, only to throw the nearest thing he had, a black book, at Brynjolfs head. " _Why_ didn't you slow down?! D-Didn't you see you h-hurt me?" he accused him, while Brynjolf hissed form getting his head hit. 

He snapped " _Yes_ , I did, lad. And I  _don't care_. It's not like you ever cared about  _me_ , either _!"_ It came out of nowhere for Sundryl, not understanding his point at all. 

While his voice slightly broke, he shouted "What are you talking about, of course I care! I-I love you-"

" _Sure_. I'm just a useful asset to you, someone easy to get in your bed!" the Speaker pointed out, before standing up. 

"Why did you even stick around then? Just to get a c-chance to hurt me?" Sundryl covered himself with a blanket, slightly shaking. He didn't understand, what was going on! Had Brynjolf tricked him?

He wanted to simply go, he really did. But while he dressed again, he huffed "Because I was blind and didn't know! Of course you would have fucked others before me! Let me guess, they all come flying into your bedchamber, once you tell them you're Dragonborn?  _I_ wanted a real relationship with you, but you're just going to dump me anyway for gods know who-" 

"Y-You'r mad, because I'm not a virgin anymore?" Sundryl wailed, not getting the thought process behind it. "H-How can you know, I will dump you? How? Y-Yes they all wanted to take me, because I'm special, b-but it wasn't like you say!  _I-I_ never p-prided myself with that! T-They all just wanted a stupid trophy; t-they wanted to be able to say,  _they_ fucked  _the_ Dragonborn! I always t-trusted them, but they were gone the next morning..." he went on to defend himself, trying to get his lover to listen. "...I thought, you were...  _different_..." he sobbed more violently now, fed up with it all. 

His Speaker simply stood there then, feeling shitty all of a sudden. He had not thought about it in that way.

"Why are y-you still standing there? Huh? L-Like seeing the Dragonborn cry?" Sundryl tried to sound hateful, but he was only heartbroken. Seeing it was having no effect, he went on "W-What comes next? A-Are you going to betray us? Did you simply join us to... f-fuck me?"

"N-No! I just-"

"Just  _go_! Just go back to the Cistern and l-laugh with the others a-about me!" he shouted more aggressively, pointing for the door. "Laugh about me being naive like always. A-And you know what? Laugh a-about me dying, when you're at it, because I won't give anyone the order to kill you! I hope having sex with me was worth i-it!" he barked and proceeded to hide his face in shame, feeling used. But he'd never be able to kill Brynjolf or let someone else do it, because he loved him. 

He knew, he had made a mistake. He knew it and hated himself for it. He shouldn't have gotten jealous or questioned Sundryl's feelings for him. He shouldn't have hurt him. But he didn't know, if he could fix it- if he had any  _right to_. Some things just could not be undone. Still, he slowly inched towards his hurt lover, trying to comfort him by laying a hand on his shoulder. It was violently shoved away with a hiss. "Sun, I'm sorry, I- I wasn't thinking right! I was... I was just jealous and jumped to conclusions, I-" he tried to reason, but it all seemed to be too little. 

"...I told you not to be jealous. A-And that doesn't justify hurting a-and screaming at me! S-Stop the act, just go... Don't pretend as if my death means anything to you personally. Leave..." he more or less begged him to go now, not wanting to be ridiculed further. "I haven't done anything to deserve this," he added, although it wasn't even true. He had done plenty of wrong stuff in his life. Perhaps this was his punishment?

"But it does! Love,  _please_... I'm just...  _Overwhelmed_ by all of this! I've never had a meaningful relationship before or someone I really felt love for. And I have hard time grasping, why you would ever want  _me_. I'm a simple thief, Sun. You are...  _so much more_ and every day I spent with you, I learn new things about you! I didn't even know, you were an Archmage! There must be so many other things I don't know! And it  _scares me_. It scares me, because I can't ever know, if you're being honest... The first t-time I told you of my love,  _you bailed_. You only said you returned the feelings, when I almost  _died_. I just... I can't help it! Hurting you was wrong and I take all the blame for it, but please understand, why I got angry in the first place," he gave his best to be honest and explain everything, although he knew hurting his lover couldn't be justified. 

Sundryl could only look him in the eyes, albeit everything looking fuzzy through the tears. Had he really involuntarily caused Brynjolf's jealousy through being so secretive? If he had told him about having had bad experiences with past lovers, perhaps this wouldn't have happened? "I-I don't know, I-"

"Listener! Cicero heard shouting-" a concerned and murderous looking jester suddenly stormed in, daggers in hands. Upon spotting Brynjolf half naked and the Listener  _completely_ naked and crying, he pieced two and two together, screaming in agony, before storming towards the Initiate. The thief just so evaded being struck by the tornado of knives.

"C-Cicero, stop! D-Don't hurt him!" Sundryl ordered, despite a small voice in him calling for revenge. He had to shout for him to stop a few more times, before the jester got it, though. It almost cost Brynjolf his life, who had been expertly cornered by the assassin and had evaded his stabbing by mere inches. He only had smaller cuts on his chest, where he had not dodged in time. 

The Keeper looked at the Listener, as if  _he_ were crazy "What? But Listener! He clearly broke a tenet! He disobeyed and hurt you! But perhaps poor Listener simply doesn't want to witness it? Cicero can deal with him elsewhere, too!" He didn't understand anything anymore! No one was allowed to fight with the Listener...

"N-No! It was s-simply a... misunderstanding! Nothing more!" Sundryl told him, although it was true that Brynjolf had broken a rule. But hadn't he, too? He hadn't kept their secrets well enough and had dishonored his Mother before... 

Brynjolf proceeded to angrily shove the clown away, before walking over to the Listener again. Trying to understand the situation, Cicero innocently inquired "...but... D-Does the Listener have an...  _affiliation_ with  _that_ Initiate? Cicero doesn't think, he understands..." Why else would they be naked and everything? The room also reeked of sex...

The elf cringed, not sure what to say. He wasn't sure himself anymore. He loved Brynjolf, but they clearly had lots of problems and the thief had gone too far in hurting him. But didn't every couple have problems? They surely weren't always as extreme, but what in his life  _ever_ wasn't? So he stammered a response, hoping Cicero wouldn't go full on mental on him "Y-Yes. We are together and love each other... Are you  _alright_...?" The Keeper's mind was fragile and he was just as jealous as Brynjolf, if not more. The Listener was lucky, he was even  _allowed_ to share Mother with him. 

Cicero looked hurt, but also worried. "But you are crying, Listener?" he pointed out at that. Couples were supposed to be happy, that much he knew. And while being a little socially awkward, he could tell those weren't tears stemming from happiness. 

" _He's fine_ , _clown_ " Brynjolf gritted his teeth, not liking the other man's behavior. He was glad about Sundryl's statement, but the jester was still putting him off. 

Cicero's features hardened there " _Don't_ **speak** for the Listener and don't insult Cicero or I'll gut you! Who are you to do this, Initiate?" He wouldn't let some puny, little assassin insult him. It reminded him too much of Astrid and her horrible husband. 

"I'm a  _Speaker_! And I surely won't have you nosing around-" 

"Stop! Both of you! Yes Cicero, he is a Speaker. Mother made him one like an hour ago, so he can,  _in fact_ , speak for me. And Speaker, you are  _not_ allowed to insult anyone here! Now, Cicero will you be okay with this?" Sundryl interfered in their fight, before it got out of hand. Reluctantly, Cicero nodded. He couldn't see it, but if Mother  _and_ the Listener found that guy to be worthy of this titel and the Listener's  _heart_ , he must have been okay. "Thank you, Brother. Now I'm sorry for being so rude, but I'll have to ask you to leave. Me and our Brother have other things to discuss," Sundryl ordered him to leave and Cicero did just so, knowing he had no choice. 

The human sheepishly tested the waters next, gently wiping away the last tears from Sundryl's face for the second time today. He let him proceed, so he guessed he had  _somehow_ managed to appease him. "I'm sorry... I don't even know, how to make it up to you. I put you through so much  _shit_..." Brynjolf helplessly looked at him, the guilt weighing him down.

While his lover smoothed out his messy, blonde hair for him, he softly said "We both messed up, Bryn. I-I should have been more honest with you- there is  _so much_ you don't know... But I don't know, if you can make up for hurting me. I need  _time_... I just need to get away from  _all of this_ , it's just too much! T-The Night Mother, rebuilding the Brotherhood, the Black Hand, dealing with Cicero, the Thieves' Guild, the College, you... I  _can't_ do it anymore. I need a  _break_."

Feeling even shittier for increasing Sundryl's level of stress, instead of lessening it as planned, Brynjolf kissed his forehead, making his elf smile. "Well... we could always travel outside of Skyrim or stay in Skyrim and go to one of those inns in the middle of nowhere... That ought to be relaxing!" he proposed, but Sundryl suddenly had a very weird, pitiful look on him.

"Oh love... Bryn, it won't be much of a break with you around, I'm afraid. Inside of Skyrim is out of the question-  _everyone_ knows me by now and they all want me to help! And outside... how do I put this... The Aldmeri Dominion isn't my biggest  _fan_. I would be dead or worse in mere hours. So  _no_. I'll have to leave Nirn for a while..." he apologetically pointed out, Brynjolf was stressing him out, too. 

The thief's eyes got wide " _Nirn_?! Please tell me, you're at least not going to Oblivion..." Sundryl chuckled. "N-No! How would you even  _go there_?! I mean- D-Does Nocturnal have any fun activities to do in her plane as of late? You can't want to be with  _her_!" he freaked out, not deeming it a safe option. Why was Sundryl desperate enough to go to Oblivion, instead of staying with him?

"Oh, I'm not going to go to Evergloam. I've never been that close to her, honestly. I'm thinking along the lines of visiting Mora or Sanguine, perhaps Hircine. Although Mora is probably the best choice... He's pretty fun, once you get to know him and I  _love_ reading..." he tapped his chin in thought, finding it funny to upset Brynjolf. 

"...Just how many Daedra did you encounter?" he dared to ask, but somehow didn't want to know at the same time. He knew Sundryl wasn't as innocent as he looked by now, but  _gods_...

A slightly creepy smile formed itself, before Sundryl admitted  _"All of them_ and I'm the Champion of all of them, too. Guess being the Dragonborn creates quite the demand. But don't worry about it, most don't even interact with me. Mora is  _by far_ the most attentive, Sanguine also at times, but the rest? They just give me a chore, I do it and get a boon. They aren't even that challenging! And best thing is: None of them will  _ever_ get my soul, although I'm bound to them. I will go to the void and they can't prevent it..." 

"And I?" Brynjolf started getting scared. He hadn't thought about that- He was a Champion, too! He didn't want to spend eternity with Nocturnal  _without Sundryl_!

The Listener cocked his head "As well? Every child of Sithis joins him! But let's not talk about death now."

"Oh," the Speaker felt relieved, albeit slightly scared. "But why is Oblivion better than me...?" he inquired, feeling sad about that. 

"It isn't, but I have to get a clear mind for once, think about a few things. I can't do that here. And I guess it would be good for you to be without me as well. Do a contract, if you can, return to the Cistern... I'll find you, wherever you are," Sundryl advised, before standing up and walking to the nearest drawer to get dressed. Just then Brynjolf saw the plethora of bruises he had inflicted on his lover and walked over to him like a kicked puppy. He ever so slightly traced over them, wanting to say  _something_ , but the Listener stopped him "No. That's something I want to think about as well. And you should, too."

But the thief wasn't having it "No- running away won't help! Especially not to Oblivion! Sundryl, if you need a break, please let us  _both_ go somewhere. Don't you have that house in the Pale? Who would ever go there to ask for your help? It's in the middle of nowhere!" He gave his best to convince the Dragonborn of it. He wasn't comfortable with him running off to some place, he couldn't reach. This would not help them! Separating and not talking had never helped them before! As if wanting to get his point across, he carefully, but intently, embraced the other's slim waist to keep him close.

"I..." he began, but couldn't think of anything to say against the idea. It made  _sense_. No one would bother them there, safe for the courier. But he still felt concern "Do you promise me to not get jealous o-or hurt me anymore?" He had to be certain. He couldn't deal with it anymore. He was a dragon at heart and needed to be free and Brynjolf's jealousy was always causing trouble. 

"Yes, I do. So... we're going there?"

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter done and it took me way too long! Sorry if I can't update that fast this week, I'm a little busy.


End file.
